House of Hades
by Irishchic1234
Summary: Basically my interpretation of the next Hero of Olympus book. Let's try not to cry, Percabeth shippers. My first fanfiction ever, so please cut me some slack :)
1. Chapter 1

House of Hades

*I know every PJO fan on the planet is making one of these right now, but I just re-read the Mark of Athena and after sobbing my heart out for the SECOND time, I decided something needed to be done. And my solution? FANFICTION! :D By the way, this story will be told from Annabeth's, Jason's, Hazel's, and Nico's POV*

*Chapter I*

JASON

When Jason saw the sea monsters heading straight towards the Argo II, he knew he was in for a rough morning. Things had been going bad enough, with Coach Hedge beating the crud out of some walls with his goat/ninja hooves and Leo sitting by his control panel with his head in his hands, continuously muttering,

"Why did I break the stupid fortune cookie?"

Whatever in Zeus' name meant.

It seemed like wind had been knocked out of demigod's sails (ignore the pun) when Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. Jason knew that they were the true leaders of the group. Annabeth was so calm headed and clever, whereas Percy was a brilliant fighter and practically unstoppable when around water. Jason was powerful; he knew that. But Percy was so- so unpredictable. He would be doing one thing, you'd think you had anticipated what he was going to do next, and then he fool you and veer off in an entirely different direction. However much Jason thought he'd done, Percy and Annabeth had done far more. They were a powerful duo, and the other halfbloods needed them around.

And now they were gone. Dragged down into the depths of Hell, only to face some of the most horrific monsters known to man. Nico, the only one among them who had actually been to Tartarus, seemed fairly confident they would survive. But Jason had his doubts. Annabeth was already wounded, and who knew what could happen down there?

Jason walked into the mess hall of the ship and saw Piper sitting alone, staring at her knife. Out of everyone, she was the only one who hadn't said anything about all the events. Jason walked over to her and slid in beside her.

"Hi." he said simply.

Piper's head snapped up and she caught sight of him.

"Oh, Jason." she said quietly.

"Hi."

"Are you okay?" Jason asked gently.

Piper nodded quickly and then shook her head, tears welling up and spilling over. Jason opened his arms and Piper flew in, sobbing.

"I just keep thinking- why couldn't it have been me? I'm useless, a daughter of Aphrodite. I can only predict relationships and charm speak. Annabeth is a daughter of wisdom and warfare! We need her around! Why couldn't it have been me?"

Jason didn't respond; just holding her close and waiting for her to cry herself out. After about ten minutes, the sobs stopped and Jason held Piper at arms-length and wiped her eyes with the back of his hand.

"Piper." he said firmly.

"Pipes, look at me."

His girlfriend looked up and he continued, saying,

"You are not useless. You are a great fighter, and a pretty smooth talker who always gets us out of sticky situations."

Piper smiled and this and Jason grinned.

"See? There's the Piper I know; the gorgeous daughter of Aphrodite who is makes this crazy trip bearable."

Piper grinned weakly and hugged him. Jason glanced at her discarded knife and she said,

"I was trying to get a vision of Percy and Annabeth. But it's not working."

Before Jason had a chance to respond, they heard a shout that's they'd come to know pretty well. It was Coach Hedge's war cry.

"COME GET SOME, SHRIMPY!"

By the gigantic roar that came next, whatever was out there was definitely not a shrimp.

*I know, I know, pretty fluffy first chapter. I don't even ship Jason and Piper as a couple. Percabeth will always come first in my fan girl heart. Things get better, I promise :)*


	2. Chapter 2

Jason and Piper sprinted out on deck only to be met with their crazed faun chaperone attacking a sea monster. And this was no Squidward Tentacles. It was a massive octopus that was hitting the ship with it's many arms. Jason whirled around and saw Leo running for the control board.

"NOT MY SHIP! I'LL KILL YOU AND MAKE CALAMARI!" he yelled, grabbed the controllers.

"Leo!" Jason shouted.

"Get us in the air!"

" What does it look like I'm trying to do?" Leo screamed back.

While he was busy with that, Hazel and Frank had arrived.

"Frank, do you think you could turn into an shark or something?" Jason said desperately. He really had no idea what to do. The air was his turf. Water? Not so much. With a gulp, Jason realized that in Percy and Annabeth's absence, he had to step and be the leader. Great.

Coach Hedge looked ready to launch himself into the water and start battling fish-style. Jason took a deep breath and then said,

"Frank, any aquatic animal would be good right now. Hazel, Arion would be a great help too. Piper, try and charm speak the squid. Coach- just don't do anything too insane."

"What are you going to do?" Piper asked fearfully.

Jason reached into his pocket and took out his coin, flipping it and then grabbed the javelin it turned it.

"Attack. Percy style."

And with that, Jason threw himself onto the sea monster.

Percy had no idea how lucky he was. Being able to control the water would have been a great help in this situation. Trying to kill the sea monster was trying to ride a bull, except only about a million times more difficult. Jason could only hold on and attempt to get a stab in now and again. Yet somehow, he found himself being held around the waist by one of the squid's tentacles. He was being pulled swiftly tugged toward's the monster's mouth. Soon enough he was staring straight at it's open maw.

"Well, this is gonna suck." Jason thought.

All of a sudden, he heard a voice shriek,

"NO!"

It was Piper, and she was using charm-speak.

"PUT HIM DOWN."

And with that, Jason hit the water with a bone-rattling CRASH.

"You do realize, " Jason said as Piper furiously rubbed his head with a towel,

"That hitting water from a great height can kill you on impact."

Piper swatted him with the towel and said,

"Well, what else was I meant to do? How could you be so stupid!" she said disbelievingly.

"Hanging around with Percy, some of his rashness seems to rub off." Jason said with a grin.

Piper groaned and walked out of the room. As she left, Jason called after her,

"Told you charm speak would come in handy."

Leo called a meeting in the mess hall later that day. Once they all gathered, he said,

"Guys, I'm seriously sick of this ship getting hated on by any monster that comes our way. I mean, they are monsters, but couldn't they have some appreciation for good craftsmanship when they see it?"

Surprisingly, the only one who smiled was Nico. Funnily enough, he slept through the entire attack. Well, he was still regaining his strength from his captivity with the giants. Jason couldn't blame him.

" Leo, I don't mean to criticize , but is there any way we could speed up the process to getting to Eprius to close the Doors of Death on the outside." Hazel asked timidly.

Leo turned to look at her and then said,

" The ship only has one speed. Besides, we're going to have to fight a whole bunch of monsters just to reach the doors."

Nico nodded quickly and then said,

"And Percy and Annabeth still have to make their way on the other side."

Everyone stayed silent while they avoided the gigantic elephant in the room. If they actually managed to close the Doors of Death, someone would have to stay in Tartarus.

*Pretty short chapter, I know. And the writing isn't stellar either, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)*


	3. Chapter 3

*I'm in the middle of English class right now...but hey, technically, I am doing English :)*

The rest of the evening was spent recuperating from the attack. Leo went to go talk to Festus, his magical dragon head (long story) and Frank and Hazel left to go be by themselves. Piper and Jason had been talking in her cabin but she got so tired that Jason just told her to go to bed. Jason walked back on deck and saw Nico standing by the railing, looking out at the ocean a hundred feet below them.

"Hi.' Jason said cautiously. There was something about Nico that unnerved him. He seemed- more dead then alive sometimes.

Nico glanced up and gave him a swift nod.

"You okay?"

Nico gritted his teeth and gripped the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Of course. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Jason let that question hang in the air. After what he'd been through, the real question was how was Nico still functioning?

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well, I don't want your help." Nico snapped back.

"Jason, I don't know if I've had this clear or not, but the thing is- I don't like you. I don't like any Romans. I've seen your methods, and they're unorthodox to say the very least. But I'm going to put up with it, just for the sake of this god's forsaken quest. Just don't try to be my friend."

"You don't want me to be Percy." Jason said, suddenly realizing this.

"You don't want me to take him place."

Nico's face was all the confirmation Jason needed; he'd hit the nail right on the head.

"You met him when you were what? Twelve?" Jason asked.

"Ten." Nico said curtly,

"They went on a crazy quest that got my sister killed."

"Hazel?" Jason said confusedly.

"But I thought-"

"No," Nico interrupted.

"Not Hazel. I had another sister, Bianca. She joined the hunters of Artemis- Diana for you- and she died. Okay?"

Jason nodded hurriedly. Sometimes Nico seemed as if nothing would stop him from calling an army of the undead to come attack. Now was one of those times.

"I take it you were angry at Percy for a long time after that, huh?" Jason said after an awkward pause.

Nico gave a short, humorless laugh.

"You have no idea. I was angry at the *world* for a long time. But a few years passed and I grew up a lot. Then Percy and I travelled to the Underworld to make him invincible-"

"You what?" Jason said.

"He swam in the River Styx and became invincible. Except when he passed into your Roman camp, that went away."

"Oh- that sucks."

Nico attempted a smile and leaned up from the railing.

"Well, if we survive this, I'll take him back so he can get one again."

His tone was wistful; Nico clearly missed Percy more than he dared admit.

Jason nodded and left him alone, walking back acros the deck. He was about to go back down below when he heard a shout. Whirling around, he saw Nico falling to the ground, writhing in pain and giving another blood-curdling scream.

*What going to happen to Nico? Don't worry, I won't screw with him too much, since I love his character WAY too much for that :)*


	4. Chapter 4

*Okey dokey, here we go. This chapter's going to be tough on my poor, Percabeth-loving heart. If my computer dies from being short-circuited by my sobs, don't be surprised*

For as long as she could remember, Annabeth had loved the story of Alice in Wonderland. A girl falls down a rabbit hole into a new, bizarre land full of amazing and wonderful creatures; what isn't to love? Well, here comes the rant! As she hurtled through the air towards the depths of Tartarus, clinging to her boyfriend, Annabeth had to laugh at her stupidity. She and Percy had just fallen down the literal Rabbit Hole. But this wasn't Wonderland; It was literal Hell.

With a thud that took her breath away, the two demigods hit the ground. Percy was the first to recover. He sat up and looked down at Annabeth.

"You okay?" he croaked out.

Annabeth couldn't respond; the pain in her broken ankle was too intense. She gave a small gasp and tried to sit up, but she couldn't. Instantly, Percy's hands were on her shoulders: holding her in place.

"Don't you dare move until I can get a look at this ankle of your's."

Annabeth nodded meekly and Percy gently eased the ankle onto his lap.

"Okay, first we need a splint of some sort."

He looked around at their surroundings. All that was around was skeletons. Annabeth knew what Percy was thinking before he said it.

"That's disgusting, Percy!" she said weakly.

"Don't think about it." Percy advised as he grabbed a spare bone and pressed it against her ankle. She winced in pain and Percy whispered,

"I'm sorry, Wise Girl."

"Don't be." she said shakily.

"It's my fault we're down here anyway."

Percy leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Never say that. We're staying together; that's all there is to it."

Annabeth nodded and then Percy said,

"We need something to bind the splint."

Unfortunately, there was nothing. Percy brushed his hair out of his eyes frustratedly, and then brought his hand away, covered in cobwebs. Realization dawned across his face and he began hurriedly grabbing all the cobwebs that covered both their bodies.

"You have got to be joking." Annabeth muttered as her boyfriend bound her leg in the spider's silk.

"Dead serious." Percy replied.

He reaching into his pocket and withdrew a doggie bag with a few squares of ambrosia in it.

"Here, take some." he said, taking out a square.

Annabeth shook her head firmly.

"No, I don't need it. We'll probably be going through that stuff pretty quickly soon."

"Annabeth." Percy said darkly.

"Take the ambrosia already."

Annabeth had never heard Percy use a tone like that before; he was angrier than she'd even seen him. So much so, she managed to sit up and take the ambrosia from him.

"I'll take half." she said, pulling it into equal parts and putting on in her mouth and chewing, placing the other back into the bag. Percy's face told her that this wasn't good enough, but she definitely wasn't taking anymore.

Percy stood up and then helped Annabeth to her feet.

"Can you walk?" he asked anxiously.

Annabeth took one step and fell to her knees. The ambrosia hadn't worked yet. Percy put an arm under her shoulders and hauled her up.

"We'll do it together." he said, kissing her cheek.

"Just like old times."

They hobbled along together; Percy supporting most of Annabeth's weight. They walked over the flat terrain.

"Do you even know where we should be heading?" Annabeth asked.

"Not a clue. I'm going by my gut."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at he ridiculous boyfriend. As a child of Athena, she always needed a plan. But Percy was impulsive and unpredictable, like the ocean itself. She was about to reply when she was cut off by a ROAR.

"What in Hades' name is that?" Annabeth said fearfully.

Percy'e eyes were wide with fear. He scooped Annabeth and ran to the right, depositing her behind a boulder.

"What is it, Percy?" she cried.

"Well, I should certainly know what it is by this point, considering I've killed him twice!" Percy yelled back, grabbing Riptide and uncapping it.

*I'm sorry! Another cliffhanger in two chapters! Please don't kill me!*


	5. Chapter 5

Annabeth watched, horror-striken, as the Minotaur strode its way towards Percy. He held Riptide in front of him offensively, his stance widening to maintain his balance. The bull man sniffed the air and lumbered towards him.

"Hi Burger King." Percy said amiably.

"Long time, no see. Ready to die a third time?"

The Minotaur roared once more and Percy grinned.

"Well, here we go."

And with that, he charged.

Annabeth watched through her fingers as Percy battled the monster. Sure, she's seen him fight before. Heck, she's seen him battle countless monsters, mortals, gods, even Kronos! But something about this was- scarier. Maybe it was because if he got injured, there was absolutely nothing Annabeth could do to help him.

But maybe there was. She tested her weight on her ankle. It hurt, but she could stand. Slowly, she half- walked-, half-crawled in front of the fight.

"Hey, Bull Boy!" she shouted weakly.

The Minotaur snorted and turned suddenly to stare at was Percy's chance to end the fight then and there, but he didn't. Percy shouted at her,

"ANNABETH, WHAT, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE GODS, ARE YOU DOING?"

Annabeth didn't respond, she hobbled off in a different direction, the Minotaur getting ready to charge.

"IF YOU GET GORED AND DIE, I WILL KILL YOU, ANNABETH."Percy screamed again.

The monster bowed it's head and Annabeth shouted,

"NOW, PERCY!"

Percy moved quickly and stabbed the Minotaur through its unprotected back. The monster wailed and began to disintegrate before their very eyes. Percy ran towards Annabeth and caught her right before she collapsed. They knelt to the ground, Percy crying.

"I swear- to all the gods- if you ever do something like that again, Wise girl." he gasped out.

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen!"

Annabeth kissed him to shut him up.

"You do crazy things when you're in love, Seaweed Brain." she said tenderly, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes. Percy's eyes softened slightly.

"Not that crazy." he said, helping her up. The couple walked for awhile and then found a cave to spend the night (could you call it night, since there's no sun?) in. They laid in each other's arms to keep warm.

"Where's Leo when you need him?" Percy said jokingly.

Annabeth smiled faintly. Being a son of Hepstapus, Leo could summon fire at will. Percy nodded off soon after that, and Annabeth just watched him. Even though they were in Tartarus, and most likely wouldn't survive this adventure, there was no one in the world, mortal or godly, that she'd rather be with at that moment. So Annabeth simply put her head on her boyfriend's chest, letting the steady reassuring beat of his heart lull her into oblivion.

*Sorry for the short chapter. I'm not that good at writing fight scenes. BUT THERE IS PERCABETH!*


	6. Chapter 6

*I just realized i never put a disclaimer on this...Ok, here we go

Me: Can I please own Percy Jackson?

Rick Riordan: Not for all the tea in China

Me: Pwetty pwease with ambrosia on top?

Rick Riordan:...It's still a no

Me: Fine*

Annabeth slept fitfully for a few hours. She woke up feeling completely unrested. Well, she was so terrified that they were going to be attacked at any moment, she guessed relaxing would be impossible. Annabeth rolled over and saw Percy laying on the ground, fast asleep with his mouth open. Did nothing faze that boy? Percy must have subconsciously felt her stare because his eyes fluttered open.

"What?" he asked with a lazy, carefree smile.

"You still drool when you sleep." Annabeth said gently.

Percy grinned outright, leaned up, and kissed her.

"Come on, Wise Girl. Let's go kick some monster butt."

Well, that statement would be tested soon. Because standing outside the cave was the Minotaur. And boy, was he angry.

"Annabeth.' Percy said stiffly.

"I though we already destroyed this guy."

Annabeth was mentally kicking herself. How could she have forgotten this? Since they were in Tartarus, the monsters basically came back to life as soon as they killed them. She had been so disoriented from the fall and in so much pain from her ankle, this highly important fact must have completely slipped her mind. Percy didn't wait for an answer.; he and Annabeth immediately went back to back, protecting each other. After so many years of training and fighting together, they instinctively knew what the other was going to do; heck, at this point, they knew it before the other person even thought of it.

The Minotaur bowed it's head and prepared to run at them. Annabeth knew that this thing could really only move forwards, so she nodded slightly at Percy and he got the message. They'd hold their ground for as long as they could and then separate at the last second, letting the monster run between them. It seemed like a good plan. However, the Minotaur had other ideas. It seemed to be turning straight towards Annabeth. Percy pulled out Riptide and looked ready to go charge, but Annabeth hissed,

"No, Percy!"

He gulped and looked at her desperately, her own fear reflected in his eyes. The Minotaur charged, and it seemed like time almost slowed down.

Looking back, Annabeth viewed the scene as if from someone else's body, almost as if she was watching a movie. She saw the monster run straight towards her, saw Percy's body tense, and then saw him push her out of the way.

"To Hades with that!" he muttered, shoving Annabeth to the side.

Annabeth could only wacthed as her boyfriend's body bore the brunt of the impact. She distantly heard him cry out and then Percy crumpled to the ground, blood gushing from his side. At the sight of this, Annabeth was seized with an fiery rage that she'd never felt before. she hadn't come so far to let Percy Jackson die because of a monster he'd defeated when he was twelve years old! So Annabeth swooped down, grabbed Riptide from Percy's limp hand, and then attacked the Minotaur.

Annabeth really should have put more practice in with swords. The knife was her chosen weapon, always had been, always would be. Riptide felt awkward and unbalanced in her hands. She swiped uneffectively at the bull, just being pushed further and further back into the corner. Soon enough, she was in the corner of the cave, staring right at the Minotaur. He roared at her and Annabeth shut her eyes.

"Mother, protect me." she prayed under her breath to Athena. it was her last hope, even though the gods had gone silent.

Annabeth's eyes snapped open and she saw a shadowy vision. It was-

"Mom?" Annabeth said incredulously.

It was Athena, dressed in full-fledged war armor. Annabeth couldn't believe her eyes. This wasn't the creepy, homeless-looking Roman goddess Minerva she's seen in New York. This was the full on, Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare...emphasis on the warfare part.

Athena drew her sword from it's scabbard and in one clean swipe, loped off the Minotaur's head. As it was disinegrating, she turned to Annabeth. Mother and daughter observed one another for a moment and then Athena sheathed her weapon.

"You're back." Annbeth said dumbly, trying to process this.

"You're clever defeat of Arachne freed me." she replied calmly.

Annabeth noddedly slowly.

"Dearest daughter." Athena said gently.

"I am sorry you must bear this."

Annabeth blinked at the sudden maternal affection, but decided to not comment on it.

"How did you get here, Mother?"

"Your faith brought this projection of me to you. The Minotaur, at least, won't be for awhile, at least, since a goddess' blade touched it. I'm probably not going to be able to return though. It uses up a lot of strength to do this."

Athena glanced at Percy's prone form and nodded to him.

"Tend to that scalawag boyfriend of your's, Annabeth."

"I know you don't approve of him, Mother." she replied stiffly,

"But I-"

"You love him." Athena said firmly.

"And he clearly returns the feeling. You're the only thing he remembered, correct?"

Annabeth stared at her, wondering how she could possibly know that.

"I like to know what's going on." Athena admitted upon seeing her daughter's face.

Of all things to do at that moment, Annabeth giggled.

"I never thought i'd hear you say those words."

Athena smiled as she shimmered and then dissappeared.

Annabeth knelt beside Percy and turned him over. He looked awful, a sheen of sweat covering his forhead. his skin was a pallid color and his breathing was uneven and rapid.

"Why would you do that, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth whispered in his ear, as she removed his shirt to inspect his wound.

Annabeth hadn't inspected him to respond; she didn't even know he was awake, but Percy mumured back,

"Because I love you, Wise Girl. Any more stupid questions?"

*Mega points if you can tell me which PJO book those final words are based off of :) And

Me: Please...

Rick Riordan: WE ALREADY HAD THIS CONVERSATION!*


	7. Chapter 7

There are some perks to being a child of the Big Three gods. Percy, Thalia, Jason, Hazel, and Nico could all tell you that. For example, Percy can control aquatic animals, breathe underwater, and is basically an all round awesome dude. Thalia and Jason can control the wind (even though Thalia's afraid of heights) Hazel, Nico's long-lost sister, can make gold and precious gems just randomly appear, and she also has a wicked cool horse as a pet. And Nico? What can he do, you foolishly ask? Nico can raise spirits, shadow travel, and command armies of the undead.

Yeah, Nico knew there are some advantages to being a son of the god of the Underworld. But as he felt a fiery burning pain seize his mind and then travel over the rest of his body, making even the smallest movement agony, Nico cursed his parentage. He cursed it to high Hades.

When Nico woke up, he was lying in a cabin bed. He tried to sit up, but felt an hand on his shoulder, holding him back. He blinked rapidly, trying to regain his senses.

"Hazel?" he said blearily.

"Nico, be still. Drink this."

He felt a straw being placed against his lips, so he obediently opened his mouth and sipped, tasting ambrosia and nectar. For some reason, it always tasted like ice cream to him. Well, when he was little, his mother always used to take Bianca and him to the beach in the summer time. They'd get ice cream and sit by the Ferris Wheel. His mother, Maria, would always pretend she was too full to finish her ice cream and split it between the two children...

Nico shook his head to shake off the memory. As he did this, everything came sharply into focus. Nico finally got to look clearly at the person standing above him. It wasn't Hazel, as he'd assumed earlier. To his shock, it was Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth and home. She was in her form of a teenager, so Nico guessed that was how he'd confused her with Hazel.

" What in Zeus' name are you doing here, Hestia?" he asked, mouth hanging open.

"I thought gods had gone silent. That's what I was told, anyway."

Hestia smiled faintly and winked at him.

"You forget, dear one, that I am not a proper Olympian. Everyone forgets about me, even Gaea!"

"I'd never forget about you, Hestia." Nico said quietly.

She fondly brushed Nico's pitch black hair out of his eyes, and then said,

"No. You're the first demigod in millennia to actually stop and speak to me. I'm still grateful; it's hard to be on your own all the time."

Gods, did Nico know how that felt. He nodded mutely and then asked,

"Do you know what happened to me?"

The goddess pursed her lips and then said,

"Since you are both children of the Big Three, I believe that you and Percy Jackson are somehow connected. Also, you are the only person as far as I know that survived Tartarus. Since Percy is there now, I imagine that you can almost- feel what is happening to him. "

Hestia paused to let the boy process this. Nico laid back on his pillows and sighed. Something like this would happen to him. But- even though it resulted in his own pain, Nico understood that this could actually be a blessing in disguise. Because now they'd be able to keep tabs on Percy. Well, they'd be able to tell if he was alive or not. Nico just hoped that they both didn't die from this.

"Hestia?" he asked hesitantly, the question suddenly occurring to him.

"How are you here, exactly? I mean, you need fire right? And we're in the sky, above an ocean."

Hestia laughed softly, moved forward and touched Nico's chest, right above his heart.

"You have fire here, Nico. There's fight in you."

Nico nodded and then Hestia giggled,

"Your friend Leo probably helps."

"Can they see you?" He asked.

"No, only you."

"Why is that?"

"Because you were the only one to actually see me, Nico Di Angelo." she said as she disappeared.

Nico shut his eyes to avoid the light of her true godly form and then felt himself slip off into unconsciousness once more.

*You like the chapter? I hope I got Nico's POV right. i'm not sure if it was creepy enough...but at least he's kinda sarcastic, right? :D*


	8. Chapter 8

Nico spent the next few days recuperating. Every time it seemed like he was getting better, his fever spiked again. He was basically a shivering, sweating mess. Gods, he thought to himself, if I feel this bad, what state is Percy in?

Anyway, one day, Nico thought he had the strength to get up, so he went out on deck for some fresh air. Leo was standing by the controllers, looking down at his feet.

"Hello." Nico said cautiously.

Leo's head snapped up and he blinked rapidly, clearly hiding tears.

"You okay?" Nico asked.

"What-yeah! Yeah, I'm great! Fine, just dandy!" Leo babbled.

Nico smiled faintly, reached into his pocket and withdrew a handkerchief.

"Here," he said, holding it out to the other demigod.

Leo looked at his out stretched hand nervously.

"I don't bite." Nico sad impatiently.

"Just take the snot rag already."

Leo grinned at this and, taking the handkerchief, wiped his red eyes.

"Thanks, man."

"No problem." Nico replied.

They lapsed into silence, until Leo said suddenly,

"Do you ever feel like you don't belong anywhere?"

Nico laughed bitterly.

"Every single day. Being a child of the Big Three can do that to you. Why? Do you?"

Leo slumped, his curly head bowed again,

"I feel like- a seventh wheel, to put it bluntly."

"Especially since everyone else on this boat of your's is in a relationship."

Leo looked at him in surprise, obviously wondering how he knew that.

"Dude, I'm not entirely sure what your abilities are, but can children of Hades read minds or something because-

"I've seen the way you look at my sister, Leo." Nico said, chuckling.

Leo's mouth dropped open, and he stammered,

"What- I-No, I don't!"

"Lie." Nico said calmly.

"Complete lie."

"Can you detect liars or something now?" Leo said wearily.

"No, I'm just good at reading people. And you're as easy to read as a book. You like Hazel."

Leo sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Fine! I do, alright! And it's not a subject I'm entirely comfortable speaking about with her older brother. Who also happens to be son of the God of the Dead."

Nico's face fell. Would no one ever see past his godly parent? Leo must have realized he screwed up, because he immediately back tracked, saying,

"I'm sorry, Nico. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you did." Nico said slowly.

"And I don't blame you."

With that, Nico turned and walked back to his cabin.

In bed, Nico thought about what had transpired between him and Leo. He clearly had feelings for Hazel, but wasn't able to act on them because of Frank. Which kind of sucked, since Nico personally thought Leo was a much better match for Hazel then Frank was.

"But what do I know about about relationships? "Nico thought with a wry smile. He'd never been in one! He distantly remembered having a crush on Annabeth when he was like, ten. But that was four years ago, and besides, Annabeth was Percy's. She always had been and always would be.

After what had transpired with Bianca, Nico basically forgot how to love. He refused to get to close to anyone, since they'd just be taken from him anyway. Percy is a perfect example. He'd allowed himself to trust the son of Poseidon, and then what happened? He went tumbling into Hell.

So, yeah, Nico figured as he drifted off, no wonder he had relationship issues, Besides, who'd ever learn to love a boy who was more dead then alive?

*Oh Nico, you have no idea...Just as a side note, I support Lazel over Frazel any day. They'd make a cute couple, and if this was actually real, I would ship them. Of course, no one will ever beat Percabeth :) As for Nico and the whole "No one will ever love me" thing, he will get some loving soon! More mega points will be awarded if you can guess who! (This one is harder than the last, though)*


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX NICO

"You know what I've always wondered?" Leo asked at lunch, examining his sandwich.

"What?" Hazel asked.

"Why there isn't more colorful food! I mean, what about pink food? There's none of that. Or-"

"Blue." Nico said with a wry smile.

"There's not enough blue food."

Everyone looked at Nico funnily and he shrugged,

"Percy had a thing for blue food. Jelly beans, cake icing, blue Coke-"

"Coke?" Frank said disbelievingly.

"Yep. It's a Camp Half-Blood speciality."

"So that's why Annabeth ordered blue Coke every night!" Piper exclaimed.

Nico nodded and was about to reply when...CRASH. Something barreled into the starboard off the ship. Everyone lurched to the left and then fell over.

If Nico had a camera, he would have taken a picture of the moment. Piper was stuck in between two chairs, Jason was on the ground underneath the table, Frank was on top of the table, and Leo? Well, Leo somehow ended up on top of Hazel. Nico watched with amusement as the son of Hephaestus stared, nose to nose, down at her. He gulped and then hurriedly sat up, yelling,

"GREAT. I HOPE WE'RE BEING ATTACKED."

He stood up and ran up on deck, the other demigods close on his heels.

Outside, a gigantic dragon with about a hundred heads was clawing at the ship, breathing fire everywhere. Beside him, Frank stopped in his tracks, his face whitening. Nico ignored this and pushed past him. Going through his mind frantically, he tried desperately to think of what monster that might be. It wasn't a hydra, it wasn't a Lydian dragon...

Then it hit him. It was Typhoeus. It was birthed by Gaea in the First Titan War in an attempt for her children, the Titans, to win. And how did Nico know this? Of all things, it was Mytho Magic; the game he'd played when he was younger. Before he knew all of this was actually real.

"It has 1200 attack power." Nico muttered grimly to himself, smiling at the irony.

Typhoeus roared and a plume of fire shot onto the side of the ship. Leo looked ready to literally combust with anger. Flames ran up and down his arms and licked his heels, begging to be used. Nico had never seen Leo that angry before, and it scared him..

But not as much as it scared Frank. He was trembling, trying to look brave, but was failing miserably. Before Nico had time to wonder why, the dragon attacked. It jumped fully onto the ship and strode along, gouging holes into the deck.

Nico heard a shout and saw Leo completely lose whatever control he still had. He basically turned into a gigantic ball of flames. Running forward, he jumped in front of Frank and Nico. Distantly, he said,

"You're not the only one who can shoot fire, Big Boy."

Frank scrambled back from Leo as he jumped on the dragon. The monster howled as Leo burned his scaly skin. It shook Leo off and he landed back on the deck. Leo jumped up and looked ready to attack again but the monster had moved on.

It was approaching Nico. He grabbed for his Styxian iron sword and held it out offensively. As he did this, he was hit with a tidal wave of Percy-imposed pain. As he fell to his knees, he thought,

"Curse you, Percy."

The dragon swooped down and caught Nico in his talons. Nico felt his skin tear as the dragon gripped his torso tightly, but it only added to the haze of pain that enclosed his entire body. The dragon flew up into the air and soared off, Nico along for the ride.

For anyone out there who always dreamed of flying, of feeling the wind in your face as you glided through the air, Nico felt he should inform you about something...FLYING SUCKS. Nico looked around frantically wondering where the heck this thing was taken him. Probably to be eaten. He looked up and stifled a scream. Hestia was staring down at him, brow crinkled in worry."

"What in Zeus' name-" Nico thought wonderingly.

Maybe he had finally lost it. All the time spent among the dead, the whole "stint in Tartarus' thing had finally caught up to him. But, honestly? At this point, Nico didn't care. He could be carted off to a looney bin right now, and he'd be perfectly fine with it.

He felt a hand gently hit his head nd he looked back up. Hey, maybe he wasn't insane. Hestia really was right there.

"Nico, are you okay?"

"What do you think?" he said sarcastically.

Hestia smiled weakly and said,

"Yyeah, you're fine, if you have enough strength to be snarky. Okay, Nico, I need you to trust me."

"Of course I do, Hestia."

"Okay, this I promise you, wherever you end it up, you will be safe. I swear by the River Styx."

"What are you going to do?"

Hestia put her hand on the dragon's already burnt forearm and let flames spring up. The dragon roared with pain and released Nico. He went hurtling through the air, clawing at nothing.

*It is becoming harder and harder to find greek mythological creatures that Rick Riordan hasn't used. does anyone have any ideas?*


	10. Chapter 10

How hard is it to keep one boy in your sight? Really? It seemed as if Hazel would never truly know whether Nico was safe or not. He was either in the Underworld, in captivity or being kidnapped by gigantic, fire-breathing dragons. But Hazel couldn't worry right then. There were other matters to take care of. Like that fact that Leo appeared to be having some form of asthma attack and that the Argo II was hurtling toward the ocean.

Besides Leo, Annabeth was the only one who knew how to control the ship. Both of them were out of action at the moment, so nobody had any idea to slow them down. Jason ran forward to the controllers, looking around wildly.

"What do I do?" he yelled.

Hazel ignored him and knelt beside Leo. He was gasping for breath, his eyes wide and panicked. Hazel turned him around and began hitting his back, trying to get more air into his lungs. Eventually, his breathing slowed and he slumped down.

"Thank-thank you." he breathed, flopping down on the deck.

Piper and Jason had somehow guided the safely to the water's surface. Coach Hedge came over to Leo.

"You okay, cupcake?"

"I-I'm just great." Leo said, his eyes sliding shut as he dropped off into sleep.

"Why do you think that happened?" Hazel asked fearfully.

The coach looked troubled, his warm eyes tense.

"I have no idea."

"I do." Frank jumped in.

"Fire takes away oxygen and basically suffocates you. Leo was in the middle of an inferno. He couldn't breathe."

Coach Hedge picked Leo up as if he was a light as a doll and carried him to below deck. Frank and Hazel were left alone.

"Are you okay, Frank?" Hazel asked gently.

He indicated the jacket the Hazel always had around her shoulders; the jacket that contained the piece of driftwood the determined Frank's life.

"As long as you have that, I am."

Hazel looked down. She'd completely forgotten about the jacket as she helped Leo. If Leo had suddenly caught flame again...Hazel didn't want to think about it.

"Frank-I-"

The son of Ares had already left.

Now that everything was relatively calm, Hazel let herself worry about her brother. He was the only family she had. If anything happened to Nico, she'd probably lose her mind. The group met below deck to discuss their next plan of action.

"What are we going to do now?" Piper asked tiredly, running a hand through her brown hair.

"I don't know." Hazel admitted.

"We need Nico back, that's for sure. He's the only one who can guide us to the Doors of Death."

"I agree." Jason said firmly.

"Our first plan of action should be to get your brother back."

Hazel wanted to throw her arms around him for that kind comment, but before she could, they heard,

"Don't tell me you were discussing battle plans without me?"

It was Leo, looking paler than normal and holding a blanket around his body.

"Get back to bed right now?" Piper said angrily as Leo slunk in beside them.

"You aren't well enough to get up yet."

"I'm fine, seriously!"

"The what's with the blanket?"

"I'm just kinda cold, that's all. I guess being engulfed in fire can make that happen." Leo said with an impish smile.

"Go." Piper said, pointing at the door.

"Now, Piper, be careful." Jason said with a grin.

"You wouldn't want Leo to get "all fired up", now would we?"

A dark blush spread across Leo's tan skin and Piper grinned too, saying,

"Yeah, he's rather hot-headed, isn't he?"

"Totally."

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Leo muttered.

"Oh look, Pipes, he's getting hot under the collar!"

Hazel didn't know if it was because of hysteria or if Leo's discomfort was hilarious, but they all burst out laughing at this.

"Poor Leo, it must be hard to be such a firebrand!"

*And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason I adore Leo Valdez :)*


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI HAZEL

"We are now in Greece, the home of the gods." Leo said triumphantly as he docked the Argo II and land came into view. Hazel wasn't sure where exactly in Greece they were, but if the Greek demigods knew, that should be enough.

"Well, technically, Leo, the home of the gods is now America-" Piper started,

"Could you please just let me enjoy it for two seconds?"

The Argo II was in bad shape. Huge claw marks ran up and down the deck from where the dragon had stood. Scorch marks and burnt areas covered the ship, partly from the dragon, but mostly from Leo. Upon seeing this, Leo groaned,

"Yeah, I'm in serious regret mode right now."

Jason laughed and then said,

"I'm sure we can fix it, especially with that handy dandy tool belt of yours."

"Now you're making me sound like Bob the Builder."

Jason tilted his head, considering this,

"I was thinking more along the lines of Handy Manny, Bob's Mexican counterpart, but that works too."

Today was not Leo's day.

So, it was decided that half of the group would stay and help Leo repair and the rest would go off in search of Nico. Hazel wasn't too sure how well that would work. They couldn't ask random strangers,

"Hey, has gigantic dragon holding an Emo-looking boy flown past here lately?"

Yeah, that would go down real well.

Still, going out and doing something would be better than sitting around and worrying. So, Piper, Frank and Hazel went out in search of Nico while Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge stayed behind to repair the ship.

"Wait!" Leo called after them.

"What about the Athena Parthenos? We still need to return that thing."

Piper pursed her lips in thought and then said,

"Well, we'll have to return in at night, since i think if humans saw us just strolling in with a forty foot statue, they might get suspicious. I don't think even the Mist could make that invisible."

Jason looked up then,

"I think the Roman demigods should return it." he said.

Everyone turned to look at him and he shrugged,

"We stole it in the first place, didn't we? To break Athena's spirit? We should be the ones to return it."

As Hazel set foot onto Greece. she had to fight the urge to run. It must have been some instinctive feeling that she did not belong here.

"Calm down." she ordered herself.

"The Greeks are your friends. You have a brother who is Greek! This is going to be fine."

Only Piper looked truly comfortable. She lead the way with a confidence that she'd probably ben born with; the confidence of a daughter of Aphrodite. They made their way to the nearest city, which happened to be Athens.

Now Hazel felt really out of place. Statues of the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare stared down at her everywhere she looked. The Romans had basically demoted Athena into Minerva, taken away her role as the goddess of warfare, so it felt weird to be seeing Athena with weapons.

Well, nothing could have been weirder than discovering that Athena actually had children. Hazel smiled as she remembered Annabeth vainly trying to explain the origins of her birth to the Roman demigods. Eventually she'd just let it go and let them think what ever they wanted.

Hazel's smile faded as she remembered where her two friends were at this moment. This was Athens, the home of Athena. Annabeth deserved to experience this with them. Hazel just hoped that when the statue was returned, they'd get some help in this fight against Gaea.

After a morning of walking around in ninety degree heat and discovering nothing, the trio flopped down on a bench in the park.

"I don't think Nico is in Athens." Piper said, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. Frank nodded his agreement, but Hazel didn't want to give up looking. This was the nearest land from where Nico had been taken.

"Can we just look for a bit longer please?" Hazel said desperately.

Piper glanced at her and then nodded wearily. They stood up and set off again.

Awhile later, the group approached the Parthenon, and just gazed at it in awe.

"I wish I had a camera." Frank said suddenly.

"Why?" Hazel asked.

"To prove to the rest of Camp Jupiter that we actually got to see this, and didn't get blown up."

Hazel smiled weakly. With the Romans marching on to attack Camp Half-Blood, any sign of reconciliation between the two groups would have been welcome.

"It's truly something, isn't it?" a tourist said somewhere off to their left.

Piper, Frank and Hazel all looked over and saw a man with a cane looking at the Parthenon. He was clearly blind, but acted as if he could see the monument as clear s day.

"But I wonder what a son of Mars and a daughter of Pluto are doing here." he said with a grin.

They all froze and the man laughed.

"I mean no harm to you, young demigods. I am Teiresias, the prophet of Thebes."

Piper's eyes widened and then she said,

"I know this story! You accidentally saw Athena bathing once, right? So she blinded you, but your mother pleaded with her, so she gave you the gift of prophecy to compensate."

Teiresias gave a graceful nod of his head,

"That is correct, daughter of Aphrodite."

Hazel jumped forward and said,

"Then maybe you could help us!"

"What do you seek?"

"My brother, Nico di Angelo. He- he was captured yesterday and we're looking for him.

Teiresias tilted his head to the side, thinking,

"The boy is a son of Hades, yes?"

Hazel nodded and then the prophet said,

"I have an idea as to where he might be, but it is a place that you would never find. And it is a place from which he most likely won't return from."

Hazel swallowed to clear the lump in her throat and nodded resolutely.

"Right." she shakily.

"Thank you, Teiresias." she said, hurriedly walking away, Piper an Frank close behind her.

It was only when she was back in her cabin, all alone, that Hazel let herself cry.


	12. Chapter 12

That night, Hazel, Frank, and Jason assembled together to move the Athena Parthenos to it's original home. Jason studied the statue critically and then said,

"Okay, I've actually been thinking about how we could move this thing for a while. Hazel, could you possibly call Arion and get him to help?"

Hazel nodded and whistled. Seconds later, Arion was by her side, nuzzling her shoulder affectionately. Jason smiled and then said,

"Okay, that's great. Frank, could you turn into flying animal of some kind?"

"Anything but a dragon." Frank muttered as he morphed into a massive bald eagle.

Jason nodded, satisfied, and then rose up into the air. (Being a son of Jupiter comes with perks like that)

"Hazel, you and Arion start moving the base of the statue. Frank, you've got the top, okay?"

The eagle gave a dip of it's head; Frank understood.

"And I'm going to get us up into the air."

Using all three of their strengths, slowly but surely, the statue rose up into night time sky. If any mortal could have seen what they were doing, they probably would have been scared out of their wits. But as it was, not another soul was outside that night. The process of moving the statue was a slow one. Frank and Hazel had to make sure that their movements were in synch, or else the Athena Parthenos would go toppling over. Jason had to keep a steady flow of air going, or else the entire plan was useless. Hazel knew they were in for a long night.

As dawn's first ray's crept over the horizon, the statue was finally lowered into place. It gave a resounding THUD when it landed, as if there was no way it was being taken ever again. Arion whinnied and then disappeared, probably to go eat some gold somewhere. Frank turned back into himself again, dislodging a few feathers from his shoulders. Jason slowly sank down to the ground and just laid there for a few moments. He looked completely exhausted.

"Well, that was successful, I think."he said from the grass, looking up and grinning at the other Romans

Hazel smiled back. She had wanted to be friends with Jason, she really did. He was a legend at Camp Jupiter, but it seemed like that when they finally got to meet him, he clearly preferred his Greek friends. But Hazel felt that tonight had really added to their unity.

Frank stooped down and helped Jason to his feet.

"Come on, man. You're beat. Let's get you back to the ship."

Jason nodded wearily and followed Frank. Hazel stayed behind a few moments, just to look at the statue of Athena.

"You're finally home. " she whispered delightedly.

Hazel bowed and then said reverently,

"All hail Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare."

As she said this, a shining light burst forth from the statue. Hazel stumbled backward in shock and watched as two figures, one of Athena, the other of Minerva, joined together. The Greek goddess knelt and put a hand on Hazel's head.

"Thank you, child. You have relieved me of my torment. Because of this, my statue is now at your disposal in this incoming war.

Hazel wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but she nodded gratefully and hurried off back to the ship, grinning happily to herself.

Athena was at peace at last.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII JASON

* I wrote this in study hall today. Wow, I am such a dedicated student, aren't I?*

Jason slept like a log the next day. Last night had taken whatever energy he had left. He didn't even have any creepy demigod dreams, he was that exhausted. He woke up finally to find that an entire day had passed, in which Leo had completed that repairs of the Argo II and they had docked. Also, miraculously, no monsters had attacked them! So, everyone was relatively calm.

The group went back on land and split into two in order to search for Nico. Jason, Leo and Frank head off in one direction and Hazel, Piper and Coach Hedge go in another. Jason lead the way, keeping a tight grip on his coin/sword. Leo was in the middle, bouncing along the balls of his feet, (did that kid ever stay still?) and Frank brought up the rear. As they walked, Jason sensed a tension between the other two demigods.

"Frank, couldn't you just turn into a hawk or something and fly around in search of Nico?" Leo asked as they walked.

Frank blushed and didn't respond, walking steadily forward. Jason turned around and shot a look at Leo.

"Don't goad him." he mouthed.

Leo pulled a face and stuck his tongue out at Jason. Jason rolled his eyes at his friend. Leo would always be Leo, and nothing, not even a war against Gaea herself, would change that.

The boys walked through a park and saw a woman sitting by the lake. At the sound of their footsteps, she looked up and smiled at them.

"Hello there." she said with a friendly smile.

Jason immediately relaxed at the sight of her beaming at them. He suddenly felt the urge to just sit down and chill. The other guys clearly felt the same desire. Leo even went as far as sitting down next to her, that's how entranced they all were.

Some sensible part of Jason told him that this was insanity, that they should probably be running in the opposite direction right now. But the sun was so hot, and Jason just wanted to sit down. They'd been searching all day with no luck, why not take a break?

Jason sat down on the other side and the woman gripped his arm. Up close she didn't look so welcoming. Her eyes were cold and cruel, and she looked almost as if- she wanted to gobble them all up.

"Uh- actually, I think we'd better be going-"

"Oh no, darling. Please stay, it is so nice for a lonely lady like me to get nice company like you boys." she purred.

Her clasp on Jason's arms tightened and her face morphed. Suddenly she was a grotesque demon with an extremely creepy face. One side was pure white, and the other was inky black. Jason stifled a shout and reached for his coin. but he couldn't. Some invisible force was stopping him. The demon snarled and lunged toward's Jason' face.

Only to be stopped by Piper, who stabbed the demon through the back with her knife.

"Hands off my boyfriend." she said haughtily as the demon disintegrated.

Jason grinned and Piper helped him up.

"What was that thing?" he asked.

"I have no idea, but apparently she only scares men, because me, Hazel and Coach weren't affected."

It turns out, the demon was Melinoe, a demon who actually only did scare men.

"Well, it's ironic that this particular demon showed up right when we were split up." Leo said.

Everyone stared at him.

"Do you really think that was a coincidence?" Frank said disbelievingly.

At the sight of their faces, Leo shrugged,

"Judging by your expressions, I assume not?"

Gaea was watching them.

See that review button down there? Pretty attractive, isn't it? Yeah, I'd tap that :)*


	14. Chapter 14

*I got an review today asking for a romantic moment between Jason and Piper. The review was by a guest, so I'm not really sure who to shout this out to. Well...Whoever you were, this one's for you. Jasper fans, please go easy on me*

Chapter IX JASON

That night back on the Argo II, Jason found Piper, alone on the deck, staring out at the stars. Jason stood beside his girlfriend and put his arms around her.

"Hi." he said softly.

"Hi." she replied, laughing.

"Do you know any Greek constellations?" he asked,

"Well, there's Ursa Major, the Great Bear." she said, pointing,

"And that's Pegasus. I'd probably be better at Cheeroke constellations though. Do, you know any Roman ones?"

"Gods, no!" he said, pulling a face.

Piper grinned, but seemed kind of forced.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm just kind of worried."

"About what?"

"Us." she said finally.

After a long pause, Jason shook his head, wondering what he was hearing.

"Is this a break up?" he said at last, his voice cracking.

"No, of course not! It's just- you're Roman, I'm Greek. Once this entire crazy quest is over, will we be okay? Will we be kept apart or-"

Jason kissed her to get her to shut up.

"Pipes, for a child of Aphrodite, you seriously need to learn a lot about relationships." he said with a tiny smile.

"Of course we'll be fine. I'm not giving you up! After this, hopefully the romans and Greeks will settle their difference. And if not, we can just elope and live in the woods."

Piper's face cleared and Jason hugged her.

"Come on, we'd better get back inside." she said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to pull an Annabeth and Percy and fall asleep out here."

"I don't think Coach Hedge or Hazel could deal with the scandal."

They walked to the mess hall and Jason made two cups of hot chocolate for them to drink together. They sat down and Piper sipped her drink cautiously. As she did this, Jason observed her thoughtfully. What had he done to deserve a girl as awesome as her? Whatever it was, he was glad Piper was in his life. She was so smart, brave, and beautiful. Jason couldn't imagine what he'd do without her, honestly. He knew Reyna had tried to start a relationship, but he just didn't feel it. Reyna was his fellow praetor, his fellow leader. He wasn't attracted to her in that way. Not the way it was with Piper. Being with the daughter of Aphrodite was like- being on a roller coaster that you never wanted to get off of.

Piper must have noticed him watching her, because she blushed and set her mug down.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"Do I have hot chocolate on my face or something?"

"No." Jason said softly.

"I'm just so happy that I think my chest is going to explode."

Piper grinned and leaned over to kiss him. She stopped about an inch away and then said,

"Why do I get the feeling that my mom and your dad are about to get very., very angry at us?"

"Who cares?" Jason said, closing the distance between them and kissing her.

*Why is Jason so difficult to write! This is so frustrating! I don't think I'm doing him justice, honestly :(*


	15. Author's Note

*Author's Note:

Hey guys :) Sorry I don't have a chapter for you right now, but I'm taking this opportunity to say thank you for all the great support I've been getting lately. All the favorites, followers, reviews and PM's really raise my spirits. May Leo Valdez bless you all with hilarity!

Irishchic1234

P.S. Random question, does anyone but Hazel know about how Frank's life depends on the fire wood? I was re-reading Hazel's chapters and trying to remember if anyone but her knows or not.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter XVI JASON

During breakfast the next day, the group met below deck to discuss where Nico might possibly be. Hazel looked up from her half eaten scone and said,

"Well, when Piper, Frank and I were searching in Athens, we met Teiresias, a prophet. He said that Nico is in a place where it's unlikely he'll return from."

The mood dampened instantly. Leo's mouth fell open and piece of his pancake fell out.

"Well, it's not the Underworld." he said, trying to sound optimistic.

"Because Nico can come and go from that place he pleases, right?"

Hazel nodded and took a sip of water. A ruby fell out and she quickly pocketed it. It seemed, Jason observed, to be happening more and more often, as she got more stressed out.

Frank cleared his throat and then said,

"Well, I'm sorry if this is the wrong thing to say-"

"Don't worry, Frank, you say the wrong thing most of the time, anyway." Leo interrupted cheerfully.

Frank glared at Leo and then continued, saying,

"You don't think he's back in Tartarus, do you?"

Everyone simultaneously gulped and Frank shrugged,

"It's a possibility!"

Hazel shook her head slowly.

"I think I'd- f=know of my brother was back in Tartarus. I'd feel it somehow."

Piper nodded and squeezed Hazel's hand comfortingly.

"Of course you would. He's not in Tartarus. What we need to do is think of all places in the ocean that a Greek demigod could go."

Everyone stayed silent for a moment and Jason said,

"Neptune- I mean Poseidon's palace?"

"He can't go there." Piper said.

"It's not his realm."

"Hang on!" Leo said,

"Didn't Percy go to the Underworld though?"

Piper paused and Jason glanced at her. She seemed unsure, but then she nodded.

"I think I know what we have to do." she said, addressing the group.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Over the winter, Annabeth told me everything she and Percy had done together. Over the past five years, Percy Jackson has been to practically every enchanted Greek place on this planet. We just need to remember all the places Percy's visited and then decide where Nico might be."

At this, Leo stood up and poured everyone another drink: Coke for the Greeks, Pepsi for the Romans, and specialized river water for Coach Hedge.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked, confused.

"Considering all the high jinks Percy has been up to all these years, I figure we're in for a long morning."

Percy seriously needed to take a break. Was there anything he didn't get wrapped up in? Let's see here...a trip to the Underworld, recovering a long-lost Greek legend while fighting a Cyclops, rescuing his future girlfriend, in which he held up the weight of the sky, a round about trip through the hardest maze you could possibly imagine, and then after becoming invincible, he fights a Titan. All the while getting a girl to fall for him, without really have any idea what the heck he was doing. How did that boy do it?

"Gods, Nico, where are you?" Jason thought desperately.

*FINALLY! NOW I CAN WRITE ANNABETH!*


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter XVII ANNABETH

Annabeth was going to kill Percy. Well, that's if this wound didn't kill him first. What made him think that he could withstand being gored by a bull and not be harmed? He wasn't invincible! Well...He used to be. But that was gone now! Even though Annabeth loved her boyfriend's stupid tendencies, he really needed to have more sense sometimes.

" Percy!" she berated him as she checked his side for infection once again. It was bright red and looked incredibly sore. Annabeth didn't know much about healing, but obviously that was not a good sign.

Percy smiled weakly, clearly in great pain. He had contracted a fever so now he was burning up on top of everything else. Annabeth felt his forehead and then pulled her hand back. His skin was dry and hot to the touch. He needed to break a sweat to get rid of this fever, she knew that much.

The daughter of Athena tugged her hair frustratedly. She wasn't a child of Apollo; she didn't have the medical skill to properly take care of him. Percy saw her face and took her hand.

"I'm going to be fine." he said reassuringly.

He sat up and then said,

"Come on, we need to get out of here."

"What?" Annabeth said incredulously.

"We've stayed here too long. I'm don't know if Athena somehow protected us for a while, but I think we need to get moving again."

"You are not going anywhere, Seaweed Brain."

"Well, you certainly aren't going alone. We promised each other that, remember?" he reminded her, hauling himself to his feet.

Percy wobbled for a moment and then regained his balance. Gritting his teeth, he straightened his torso and then smiled as if nothing hurt.

"See? I'm perfectly fine."

But Annabeth knew him too well for that. She knew when Percy was upset, even if he tried to hid it. She knew when he felt lonely, because of the way his green eyes darkened slightly. And she most definitely knew when he was lying through his teeth.

"Yeah, sure." Annabeth said, putting an arm under his shoulders.

"But I can see nothing i say will change your mind, will it?"

"Yep."

Annabeth sighed.

"Then let's get going."

They hadn't gone twenty feet before they were attacked. Swooping in from nowhere, out came an empousai. Percy stopped in his tracks and then said in shock,

"Kelli?"

"Hello, Perseus Jackson. It's been two years, but i think you remember me."

"Yeah, you blew up my high school."

Kelli smiled, baring her sharp teeth.

"You fought bravely. I admire that. But it is here, that you shall die."

The demon lunged forward, teeth bared at Percy's throat. Percy swiftly sliced through her with Riptide, grabbed Annabeth's hand and set off at a run. Kelli was already reforming.

"Where are we going?"

"Away from her! Because she had friends, and I think I managed to annoy every single one of them over the past five years!"

Annabeth snuck a glance behind her and what she saw was enough to give anyone nightmares for weeks. Behind them was an entire army of monsters. Telekhines, Stymphallian birds, Furies, hellhounds, Laistrygonian giants, Cyclops...Everything you could possibly imagine. There was no way that two demigods could defeat all that. Annabeth gulped and ran faster.

They ran for ages, barely stopping for breath. At certain points, Percy looked like he was going to collapse. He was gulping back air like it was going out of fashion, and his complexion was haggard and gray. Annabeth kept a tight grip on his hand, so they wouldn't get separated somehow. The couple hid behind a rock and Percy fell to all fours on the ground, gasping for air. Annabeth knelt beside him, gently putting a hand on his back.

"Ten deep breaths, Seaweed Brain."

"Tr-Trying, Wise Girl."

All of a sudden, Annabeth felt herself being lifted up in the air. Shrieking, she grabbed for Percy and pulled him up with her. Annabeth looked wildly around her, catching sight of a giant's ugly face. It was holding them upside down. upon seeing this, Percy finally went unconscious. The giant deposited them into a massive net of some sort. They fell in, limbs tangled together. Annabeth jumped up and attacked the sides of the net, looking for a way out.

"Wonderful," a voice said,

"Beautiful sacrifices to wake the Earth Mother."

Annabeth groaned and starting crying as she realized what had happened.

Gaea had captured them and was keeping them safe. But it was just so they'd be alive in time for the sacrifice.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter XVIII ANNABETH

"Wise Girl?"

Annabeth jolted up, falling to Percy's side. He was looking around him in confusion, wondering where the heck they were. Annabeth threw herself down on top of him and sobbed into his chest; she was that relieved. She didn't care that they were captured; Percy was awake and he was okay.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, wiping her eyes.

Annabeth looked up and shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just glad you're awake."

He didn't reply, just looking her up and down in concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked,

"No injuries or memory loss or-"

Annabeth smiled faintly, sitting up.

"I'm fine.

Percy nodded, but he didn't look entirely sure. He glanced up and then asked,

"Where are we?"

"We were captured by a giant. I think Gaea's holding us here until the sacrifice."

"Well, that's not going to happen." he said firmly.

"Because we're going to survive."

"Percy, that is starting to look like less and less of a possibility."

"I don't want to hear that, Wise Girl. We're getting out of here." he said angrily.

"I'm just trying to be realistic!"

"Well, at the moment, our reality sucks! So I'm trying to stay optimistic right now!" Percy yelled, eyes blazing.

Annabeth flinched backward, her eyes widening. Since they'd been reunited, Percy and Annabeth hadn't fought at all. But, she guessed, that was too good to last. And tensions were running high at the moment, plus they were both completely stressed out, so Annabeth could see why Percy snapped.

But that didn't stop her gray eyes welling up with tears. Percy slumped backward, biting his lower lip. He looked ready to cry himself at the sight of her face. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Percy said,

"Wise Girl, look at me."

She stared mutely at her knees, holding back more tears.

"Please Annabeth," he pleaded.

She glanced at him and he looked at her apologetically, the green eyes she'd fallen in love with full of remorse.

"Please don't cry, because then i'll start and-" he began

Percy's voice cracked and he started again,

"I'm impulsive. I speak before I think. I have ADHD, for Zeus' sake! i am a self-professed idiot. But you picked me."

"No one gets picked, Seaweed Brain." she replied.

"I fell in love with you."

Percy looked at her hopefully, his eyes worried. Annabeth knew she wouldn't be able to stand that look much longer, so she went and laid down beside him, holding him close. He sighed peacefully and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he nodded off again.

Annabeth was afraid to go to sleep, incase Percy's fever spiked again. It still hadn't gone down and she was getting more and more worried. Annabeth sat there for hours, keeping watch over her boyfriend as he slept fitfully. Every so often, he cried out and she wondered what nightmare he was having.

"Don't hurt her!" Percy mumbled in his sleep.

"Well, someone's having a bad dream, isn't he?" someone said behind them.

Annabeth whirled around and saw a beautiful woman sitting in the corner. She recognized her immediately; It was Aphrodite, one of the only Greek gods unaffected by their Roman counterparts.

"Lady Aphrodite!" she exclaimed, relieved,

"Don't say that name!" the goddess cried, holding her head.

"I'm Venus!"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and looked closer, spotting slight differences between her and the goddess she's seen in Charleston.

"But I thought you said you weren't affected by your Roman side-"

"i said not as badly as the other gods. I still get headaches."

"Oh- My Lady, why are you here exactly?"

"I sensed big romantic issues. I came to intervene."

"We had a fight a little while ago, but it's okay now."

"Well, in that case-"

The goddess looked ready to leave but Annabeth exclaimed,

"Wait! Can you get us out of here?"

"Even the goddess of love cannot free you from this, demigod." she said.

Annabeth expected that answer, so she changed her tact.

"Well, can you help Percy in any way?"

"Why should I?" the goddess asked, crossing her arms like a child in a temper.

Annabeth gritted her teeth.

"Because I love him and you're the goddess of love."

"Do you truly love him, though? How can I be sure?" Venus said.

"Besides, all the best love stories are tragic. It would be so romantic if he were to die from a fever in your arms."

The goddess looked quite happy about this idea and she said,

"But I'm not totally convinced you are in love, young one. Your face isn't glowing, there aren't stars in your eyes, you hold none of the regular symptoms."

Annabeth turned around slowly and looked at the goddess. All her frustration and rage and fear rose up in a gigantic tidal wave and she screamed at Venus,

"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?"

Venus blinked, opening her mouth to say something, but Annabeth was already off on a tangent.

"Of course I love him! It would be impossible for me not to! He's my Seaweed Brain, I'm his Wise Girl. I had a crush on him for four years before he actually started to take any kind of notice and then we get derailed by a plot twist named Rachel Dare. After another year of anxiety, nerves, and fighting with him, we finally got together.I'm the only thing that connected him to the mortal world. I took a knife for him because I knew that if he got hurt, he would die. WE KISSED UNDERWATER, WOMAN! UNDERWATER!

Annabeth stopped for air and then began again, ignoring the goddess' surprised face.

"Then, after five months together, he goes missing, off to your Roman camp. He loses all of his memories, except for one thing. ME. He only remembered my name. And you know why? Because true love can't be forgotten. We finally get reunited, oh I don't know, less than a week ago, and then I go on a private quest that ends up with him holding me up from falling into Tartarus. And instead of letting go, you want to know what he does? HE FALLS WITH ME. Because he'd rather be in the depths of Hell than without me. So now we're here, him really, really close to dying, and me having to put up with idiots like you telling me that I don't love my boyfriend! So you know what? GO AWAY!"

Annabeth finally stopped, breathing heavily. She glared up at the goddess, who was grinning madly.

"What's so funny? Is my heart break funny now or something?!"

"You passed the test." Venus said simply.

"Perseus is healed." she said, waving her hand and then disappearing.

Annabeth knelt beside Percy, frantically feeling his forehead to see if his fever was truly gone. To her joy, it was. She starting kissing his cheeks rapidly, the knot of worry in her chest dissolving.

"Wow, you really do love me, huh?" Percy said with a grin.

Annabeth blushed.

"You heard that?"

"I think the gods up on Mount Olympus heard that, Wise Girl."he replied.

Annabeth colored again and muttered sheepishly,

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. That was nerve-racking enough, screaming at a goddess."

He laughed, hugging her close.

"And that is why I will never be happy with anyone else, Annabeth Chase."

"What do you mean?"

"You're smart without being conceited. You're beautiful without being vain. And you're perfection, without knowing it."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter XIX ANNABETH

Annabeth had some really strange dreams in the past. Some were mysterious, some were funny, and others were downright terrifying. A particularly memorable one was that Camp Half Blood had somehow become a circus clown training facility. There had been the Stoll brothers with their faces painted in rainbow colors, Grover jumping out of a burning building only to be caught in a sheet by some nymphs, and Mr. D standing on Chiron's back in a show girl costume, twirling ribbons in the air. (Where in Zeus' name that came from, Annabeth had no idea.)

But the dream she had that night took the cake. Annabeth saw a vision of all the Greek gods and goddesses cooped up on Mount. Olympus. Zeus had closed the doors, so they were not permitted to leave, unless for something incredibly important. They sat in the thrones lazily, knocking back ambrosia spiked with Aspirin to get rid of their headaches.

"Are we ever going to get out of here?" Apollo asked.

Artemis rolled her eyes at her twin brother and said,

"Eventually, Apollo. Have patience."

"At least I can work on my haikus!" he said brightly.

Everyone groaned and Mr. D muttered,

"Can I please turn him into a dolphin for a little while?"

On the other side of the room, Aphrodite was quietly sobbing her heart out, wiping her eyes with scraps of silk.

"They were the greatest love story since Helen and Paris!" she wailed broken-heartedly.

Athena sighed.

"Aphrodite, it would be fantastic if you used the present tense."

"I agree." Poseidon said.

"They aren't dead. Please calm down."

"Percabeth is in Tartarus and you want me to calm down?!" the goddess of love screeched.

"Do you have no hearts at all?"

Poseidon and Athena shared an uncomfortable glance.

"Um- what is a Percabeth?" Athena asked.

Aphrodite put her head in her hands.

"Do you know nothing? It's your children's couple name, of course! I invented it myself."

"They have a- couple name?" Poseidon said.

"You are hopeless!" Aphrodite cried, flouncing out of her throne and striding away.

Athena and Poseidon glanced at each other and shrugged. Athena stood up and then murmured, so only the sea god could hear,

"She'll take care of him, you do know that, correct?"

"And he'll take care of her. I know my son; he never lets bad things happen to people he cares about. And if there is one thing I'm certain of, he loves your daughter."

Annabeth saw Hestia sitting in the corner, tending the fire. She was discreetly listening to conversation between Zeus, Mr. D. and an Iris-Message with Hades.

"Is there no way you could remove Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from Tartarus, brother?" Zeus asked.

Hades shook his head.

"Tartarus is beyond my control; you know that." he replied.

Mr. D looked up from the solitaire game he was playing and said,

"I don't see why we can't just leave them there. They're nothing special, really."

"Would you care to repeat that, Dionysus?" Poseidon called loudly from the other side of the throne room.

Mr. D shook his head and looked back down at the card game.

"Besides," Hades said,

"I have my own son to worry about. He's missing once again."

Annabeth was surprised by the sudden rush of fatherly protect towards Nico. Hades never seemed to care about his son much; Hades didn't really seem to care about anyone but himself, really. But maybe they were wrong about him.

It was here that Hestia looked up from the fire.

"I know where Nico is, Hades."

"Will you come into view, Hestia, so i can speak with you?"

Hestia nodded and walked over to the Iris- Message.

"He was being kidnapped by a dragon, so I sent him somewhere safe."

"Where?" Hades said desperately.

"In the middle of the ocean." Hestia continued calmly.

"WHAT?" Hades roared.

"Where did you send my son, Hestia?"

"He's on an island, but it was enchanted by the gods so people on it couldn't leave. We need to go and remove the enchantment."

Hades nodded thoughtfully and Hestia said,

"Since I am the only one truly unaffected by our Roman side, I can go release the island from its spell, if you wish."

"Well, we all know how you feel about Nico di Angelo, Hestia." Mr. D drawled lazily, examining his nails.

Hestia whitened and turned to look at the wine god.

"I am sure I don't know what you mean. Dionysus."

"I am sure you do. It's funny how a virgin goddess can fall in-"

Hestia whirled around, grabbed the poker from the fire place and held it level with Mr. D's chest. He blinked in alarm and then laughed nervously.

"You can't kill me."

"No, but I could hurt you very, very much." Hestia growled.

"And I did not give up my throne on Olympus so a sniveling, whiny old drunk like you could take my place. I won't be mocked by you. So keep your ridiculous comments to yourself from now on."

Mr. D looked down at the white-hot poker pointed at his heart, gulped and then nodded.

"Thank you." Hestia said.

She suddenly disappeared, probably off to free whatever island Nico was on.

And with that Annabeth woke up. She chuckled to herself and Percy glanced at her,

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You will not believe where Nico di Angelo is right now."

*Hey, guys from now on, if you have a criticism about this story, could you please tell me what you didn't like about the chapter so I could learn and get better from that? Thank you :)

Irishchic1234*


	20. Chapter 20

*This chapter is dedicated to Chloe the hybrid. Thank you for reviewing every chapter and giving me advice when I desperately need it :)*

Chapter XX NICO

Nico felt like death. Everything hurt; when he slipped out of the dragon's grasp, he'd hit the water pretty hard. (As in, it felt like enough to break a couple bones)

After that, Nico went unconscious from pain, saying a muttered prayer to his father to protect him when he inevitably died.

So, it was quite a shock to find himself on an island, very much alive. He was laying on a mattress of some sort, a soft blanket tucked around him. Nico sat up and saw a girl sitting in the corner.

"You're awake." she said simply, coming to stand beside him.

Nico nodded cautiously. It was never good to wake up to an unfamiliar face. When you were a demigod, it most likely meant said person wanted to kill you.

He quickly studied her; she looked about fifteen with silky brown hair. Analyzing her hands and the rest of the room they were in, Nico couldn't see any weapons. Still, a well-trained monster can make a weapon out of basically anything. So he was going to remain untrusting. Well, Nico was basically always untrusting, but you get the idea.

The girl noticed him watching her and she said,

"What is your name, dear one?"

"I don't feel entirely comfortable telling you." Nico said hesitantly.

The girl looked said, her brown eyes sorrowful.

"I am no threat to you. Honestly."

She reached over and pulled the blanket higher over the boy's shoulders. Nico flinched away from her and she jerked backward.

"I'm sorry. I really should learn to keep my hands to myself."

"Who are you?" Nico asked finally.

"Where are we?"

"We are on Ogygia. And I am Calypso.' she said with a faint smile, walking away.

Due to his Ancient Greek studies, Nico knew the legend of Calypso. She was bound to stay on this island forever, because her father was Atlas. Nico did feel sorry for he about that; he knew what it was like to be judged by your parent's actions. But Calypso's punishment was particularly cruel. Every so often, a hero would wash up on her shores. She would rescue them, and diligently nurse them back to health. But there was a catch. Calypso couldn't help falling in love with every hero that she healed.

And the heroes were never able to stay with her. They always had to go, off to save the world once again. So Calypso was left alone, with a broken heart. Yeah, Nico did feel bad for her, but there was nothing he could do. He definitely wasn't staying. He'd made a promise to Percy, to lead the others to the Doors of Death. Nico had betrayed the son of Poseidon too many times in the past to let it happen again. He was getting out of here.

Besides, he probably was the exception to the rule. Calypso wouldn't fall for him. He'd make sure of that. And Nico sure as Hades wasn't planning on falling for her either. Everyone he loved got taken from him; what was the point in risking his heart once again?

Nico silently slipped out of bed and walked out into the sunshine. wincing from the bright light, he squinted and looked around. He saw Calypso kneeling on the dirt, working away in a garden. She was humming a tune to herself, smiling softly. He walked up to stand next to her and she turned around to look up at him.

"Hello. You look much better, your color's returned."

Nico nodded silently and then said,

"Thank you for taking care of me, Calypso."

"Of course, dear one." she said softly.

At the sight of her sad, wistful smile, Nico sighed inwardly. It wouldn't hurt to be friends with her, would it?

"My name's Nico di Angelo, by the way."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter XXI NICO

Over the next few days, Nico tried vainly to get better. Being linked to Percy didn't help matters. At one point, he felt like he wanted to cough up a lung. He was on his back, gasping for air. He looked up at the blue sky and laughed humorlessly. Calypso spotted him and hurried over.

"What's happening?" she asked in alarm.

"I thought you were getting better!"

"I- was." Nico wheezed.

Once that attack ended, Nico told Calypso about the connection he had with Percy.

"So, basically every time he gets hurt, you suffer as well?" Calypso asked.

Nico nodded and Calypso said,

"Well, that doesn't seem very fair."

"Who ever told you life was fair?" Nico asked coldly.

"Because, please, introduce me sometime."

As soon as he said it, Nico knew it was the worst possible thing to say. Of course Calypso knew life wasn't fair. Look at what she got landed with! Calypso looked downward and nodded.

"I'll take my leave." she said, standing up.

"No, Calypso, i didn't mean it like that-" he started.

Calypso looked at him then and she nodded resignedly.

"You know what you said." she said softly, walking away.

Nico sank down to the ground, hugging his knees. Then he told himself to snap out of it. She meant nothing to him. nothing at all. It was just his guilty conscience getting to him. That was all. Nico nodded resolutely. Now he just needed to figure out away to get off of this gods forsaken island and back to the Argo II. He wasn't letting Percy down again.

So, Nico made it his goal to get stronger. He started doing work-outs, push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, anything his weak body could withstand. It was agony for awhile, but eventually he got the hang of it. One afternoon, Calypso was watching him getting some sword practice in. Nico wasn't bad with a sword, definitely not a match to Percy or Jason, but he could certainly hold his own.

Nico lunged forward, feinted to the right and then stepped backward, wincing as his sore shoulder muscles screamed in protest.

"What are you doing, Nico?" Calypso asked, sitting on a rock to watch him.

"Practicing." he said shortly.

"I can't let myself get weak again."

Calypso looked downward at her hands. She already knew why he was training; to get his strength up so he could leave. Nico ignored her sad demeanor and kept on practicing.

Once, Nico wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over a tree root. Cursing, he fell to the ground, his sword falling out of his hand. Nico spat some sand out of his mouth and heaved himself to his feet. He saw Calypso holding his sword awkwardly out to him, muscles trembling with the strain of lifting the Styxian iron. Nico took it from her and nodded his thanks.

"Thank you."

He saw blood seeping from the the outside of Calypso's hand and before he thought of what he was doing, grabbed it,

"What did you do?" he asked accusingly, turning her hand over and seeing a long graze on her palm.

Calypso pulled her hand out of his grasp and said,

"Nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing." he countered.

"You cut yourself on the sword, didn't you?"

Calypso nodded shamefacedly, her pale face flooding with color.

"You must think I'm a total dunce." she muttered.

Nico was alarmed by the amount of compassion he felt. But feel it he did. No wonder Calypso hurt herself with a weapon. No one had probably ever taught her how to handle them correctly. And with a father like Atlas, you couldn't go up to him and say,

"Hey, Daddy, can we please have some sword fighting practice today?"

Because you know, Atlas was kept busy with other things. Like holding up the weight of the sky, for example.

"Not a dunce, just in careful."

Calypso smiled slowly and Nico took her uninjured hand.

"Come on, I'll teach you."

"What?" Calypso asked fearfully.

"Just the basics." he assured her.

Then he grinned.

"Like how to not hurt yourself with your own sword."

Nico had no idea what he was taking on. Calypso could barely lift the weapon, let alone fight with it. Eventually, she managed to raise her arms and Nico quickly corrected her posture. Her stance was unbalanced, so the moment he put a hand on her shoulder, she almost went toppling over. Nico fought back a sigh. He wasn't known for his patience.

Calypso saw his face and sighed herself.

"This is hopeless."

"No, it isn't. Here, let me help you."

Calypso raised the sword again, and Nico stood in front of her.

"Attack me."he said, spreading his arms out wide.

"Wha- No!"

"You won't hurt me. Go on."

Looking unsure, Calypso swung the sword. Nico jumped out of the way and it missed him completely. Calypso blew her hair out of her eyes in frustration and tried again. Nico couldn't help admiring her for her perseverance.

This went on for awhile, Calypso getting more frustrated and tired as time wore on. Eventually, Nico stood still.

"You've done well for today, Calypso."

Calypso nodded and turned to go. Then suddenly, she whirled around and pointed the sword at Nico's chest. He blinked in shock and she grinned.

"Finally! I managed to scare you somehow!"

Nico grinned too, happily surprised by her ingenuity by attacking him when he was off-guard. Calypso lowered the sword and handed it back to him.

"Thank you, Nico. Truly."

The son of Hades nodded hurriedly and she walked away. Nico ran a hand through his hair and exhaled slowly.

"No, no, that's not going to happen." he berated himself.

"Get a hang of yourself, di Angelo!"

*Aww, bonding over weaponry :) Doesn't get much cuter that that, does it? Hahahaha jk, a LOT of things are way cuter than that :)*


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter XXII NICO

Nico and Calypso were in her garden, working in silence. Calypso looked at Nico and he smiled nervously. They both reached for the same plant at the same time and their hands bumped together. Nico drew back as if she'd burned him and Calypso stifled a smile. She sat back on her heels and said,

"Nico, I take it that you are familiar with my story."

Nico nodded non-commitedly, eyes on the plants.

"And you know that you could stay here, if you wanted to."

Nico sighed and knelt to look Calypso in the eye.

"I can't, Calypso. My friends need me. I have to guide them to the Doors of Death."

Calypso bit her lip in distress and then looked down, nodding firmly.

"Of course you do."

She stood up, dusting off her hands.

"And the sooner, the better. I have detained you here for too long."

Calypso gathered Nico's few possessions and presented them to him in a neat pack. He slung it across his back and she nodded, hugging him.

"Good bye, dear one." she said, brown eyes swimming with tears.

Nico had never felt worse then he did at that moment, watching this girl suffer heart break for about the millionth time. But there was nothing he could do. He had to go. He tried to convince himself that it was the right thing; that she'd quickly get over him and he would forget all about her.

But of course he wouldn't. She was so kind to him, never questioning about his life or what being a son of Hades was like. Nico felt entirely comfortable around Calypso; which was something he hadn't truly felt with anyone else since Bianca died. So as he pulled back from the hug, his own cheeks were wet with tears. Because he'd never see her again.

Calypso smiled brokenheartedly and tenderly wiped his eyes.

"There you go." she whispered.

Calypso stood up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss on Nico's forehead. She nodded firmly.

"You should be going."

Nico turned and walked to the shoreline. He prepared to shadow travel away but then whirled back around, striding toward Calypso.

"I forgot something."

"What?" Calypso asked.

"This." he said, grabbing her shoulders and kissing her forcefully.

Nico spent most of his teenaged years among the dead. He wasn't comfortable around girls, typically. So, you can only imagine how nervous he felt kissing one. Calypso stiffened in shock at first but then relaxed, leaning into the kiss. They made eye contact and Nico flushed bright red.

"Well, that was idiotic."

"Why?" Calypso asked, sounding hurt.

"Was I a bad kisser or something-"

"No! Well, I don't have any experience, but definitely not! It's just- that made it even harder to leave now!"

Calypso wasn't paying attention to him; she was staring over his shoulder at something behind him. Nico turned around quickly and saw Hestia standing on the shoreline.

"Hestia!" he said with relief.

"Hello Nico." she said.

Hestia then turned to Calypso.

"You are Calypso, I assume?"

She nodded and Hestia extended a hand over her.

"I, Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, release Calypso from this island. The Olympians have discussed this matter and we feel that this exile should be put to an end. You are free."

Calypso squealed with excitement, ran towards Hestia, and flung her arms around her.

"THANK YOU!" she cried.

Nico saw a pained look cross over Hestia's face as Calypso hugged her. He had no idea what that was about, but he decided to leave it for another time.

Calypso ran back to Nico and took his hand, laughing giddily.

"Well, you're free now." Nico said with a smile.

"Where are you going to go first?"

"With you, silly."

*Did you guys like the chapter? Was it too cliche? i thought so...*


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter XXIII HAZEL

When Hazel saw Nico just suddenly randomly appear aboard the deck of the Argo II, she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or go punch him in the face. But in the end, all she did was stare at him. And at the girl beside him who was puking her guts out over the side of the ship.

"Calypso?" Nico asked gently, putting a hand on her back.

"Are you okay? Shadow-travel can be kind of uncomfortable your first time around."

The girl, apparently called Calypso, waved Nico off and kept on heaving. Nico rubbed her back absent-mindedly and looked at Hazel,

"Happy to see me?" he said with a smirk.

Hazel ran up to him and hit him with a hug so strong it send him staggering backwards.

"Woah! I'll take that as a yes, then!" Nico chuckled.

Hazel looked up and him and gripped his arms tightly.

"Don't you dare get kidnapped ever again, Nico di Angelo." she said fiercely.

Nico nodded and Hazel released him.

"Everyone!" Hazel called below deck.

"Look who's back!"

Once the initial excitement of having Nico back wore off, they settled down so they could hear his story.

"Well, as you know, the dragon kidnapped me." Nico started,

"But as we flew off, Hestia appeared to me."

"Hold up," Jason asked,

"Who is Hestia?"

"The Greek goddess of the hearth and home." Nico informed him.

"She doesn't have a Roman counterpart, so you don't know her. We've been friends for awhile now. Anyway, she showed up, saying she'd bring me somewhere safe. I fell out of the dragon's grasp and went unconscious. Next thing i knew, I was on Calypso's island."

For the first time, Hazel noticed Nico's and Calypso's interlocked hands. She grinned and Nico shot her a pleading look, as in "Please don't tell them. I'll do it eventually." Hazel nodded slightly, letting him know she understood. Nico stood up.

"Calypso, you're starting to look a little green again. I'll show you your cabin."

Calypso nodded wearily and stood up, following Nico out. Hazel watched them, smiling slightly to herself. Eventually, everyone left except for Piper. She sat down across from Hazel and said,

"Good to have him back?"

"Definitely." Hazel replied with relief.

"Now I can keep an eye on him."

Piper smiled mischievously.

"They're a cute couple."

Hazel beamed.

"You saw it too? It wasn't just my imagination?"

"Yes! They're adorable!"

The two girls laughed, and Hazel felt the beginnings of a friendship.

Awhile later, Hazel went to check on Calypso. She knew what it was like to get sea sickness, so she wanted to check if she was okay. Calypso was laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, a tiny smile on her face. Hazel softly knocked on the door and stepped inside the room. Calypso sat up, a bright smile on her face.

"Hello." she said cheerfully.

"Hi. I'm Hazel." she said, closing the door behind her.

"You're Nico's sister, correct?"

Hazel nodded and Calypso smiled even bigger.

"It's nice to finally meet you. Nico's told me a lot about you."

"All good, I hope!" Hazel joked.

"Of course."

Hazel sat down on the edge of the bed and asked,

"How do you feel?"

"Not great, I'm afraid." Calypso said.

"I'm still nauseous."

"I know how you feel." Hazel said sympathetically.

"Are you hungry at all?"

At the mention of food, Calypso grimaced and held her hands to her mouth.

She shook her head and Hazel patted her shoulder.

"Maybe in a little while then."

Hazel stood up and walked to the door. She turned back around at the last second and then said,

"Calypso, I'm glad you're with my brother. He needs someone like you in his life."

Calypso whitened more, if that was even possible, and then said,

"How did you know?"

"I'm his sister, I can just tell stuff like that."

"Ah. I see."

Hazel left Calypso alone and went to her cabin. She chuckled to herself as she walked. Hazel could see why Nico liked Calypso. She was so sunny, all the time. Nico deserved a ray of sunshine to brighten his life up.

*Three chapters in one day? I'm on a roll! :D Hahaha i have no life whatsoever*


	24. Chapter 24

*I just took midterms for two hours...Please forgive me if this chapter sucks. Anyway, I just realized that I have not included one single Frazel moment in this story...sorry anyone who ships them! :D To make up from this negligence, I am attempting to write some fluffy Frazel*

Chapter XXIIV HAZEL

The demigods were mere days away from the Epirus. Everyone was getting almost- excited. Their quest was nearing its fruition. But Hazel couldn't relax, not fully. She couldn't fight the feeling that everything shouldn't be going this smoothly. More monsters should have been attacking them, if they were this close to the Doors of Death. Gaea would have been throwing everything she had at them. Hazel privately felt that this was the calm before the storm. Soon, everything would be unleashed.

She looked out at the clear horizon and sighed. Frank silently came up beside her and took her hand.

"Hi Hazel." he said softly.

The daughter of Pluto looked up and smiled.

"Frank!" she said brightly.

"There you are."

Too brightly. Frank could see through her facade pretty easily.

"You're worried about something."

Hazel's smile faded and she nodded.

"Not just something. I'm worried about everything."

Frank put his arm around her and pulled her close protectively.

"I won't lie and say I'm not worried too."

That was something Hazel liked about Frank. He wasn't afraid to admit his concerns, or his fears. Hazel didn't like people who bottled everything up, maybe because she was so open herself. But Frank wasn't like that. He said what was on his mind, and he said it truthfully. Also, he didn't try to lie to her and say everything was going to be fine, when they both knew it definitely wasn't.

Plus, Frank claimed to be useless and unimportant, but Hazel found him the complete opposite. He was always there when you needed him; in battles, or just in general. Besides, how many people had a boyfriend who could shape shift? Sure, some people kiss you underwater and others floating in midair, but not many could say they'd flown around with their boyfriend who was an eagle at the time.

Hazel glanced at Frank and he blushed.

"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.

"About you."

Frank colored even more, his ears going scarlet.

"Erm- what exactly?"

"About how very much I like you."

Frank grinned and then they heard Nico call,

"Hazel? Could you come here for a moment?"

Hazel smiled regretfully at her boyfriend and then slipped away.

And another thing about eagles: They stay together for life.

Hazel found Nico in the mess hall, pacing back and forth.

"Are you alright?" Hazel asked.

Nico looked down at her and said swiftly,

"No, I'm not."

"What's the matter? Are you in pain or something-"

"No, nothing like that- It's Calypso."

Hazel stayed silent and waited for him to continue,

"I assume you are aware that we are together?" he demanded to know.

Hazel nodded slowly, not entirely sure where he was going with this.

"Are you considering breaking up with her? Because I really don't think you should do that-"

Nico shook his head impatiently, eyes worried.

"Then what's the issue?"

"I'm so awkward around her, Hazel." Nico said finally.

"I don't really know how to be a boyfriend. I can't compliment her, I'm tongue tied whenever we're together- It's more complicated than I ever imagined."

Nico put his head in his hands and breathed deeply. Hazel giggled and Nico looked at her in outrage.

"I don't find this funny!"

Hazel covered her mouth to smother the laughter and then consoled her brother.

"Nico, you have nothing to worry about. Honestly. Calypso likes you for who you are. She wouldn't want you to change that for her!"

"You really think so?" Nico said from behind his hands.

"I know so, actually. And comfort comes with time, you're still really getting to know Calypso."

Nico looked at her and nodded,

"You're right, I suppose."

"You suppose? You know I'm right." Hazel said with a grin.

Nico couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Hazel." He said, walking up on deck to find his girlfriend. Hazel shook her head to herself as he left. Brothers could be so clueless sometimes.

*Well there we go! Frazel fluffiness and sibling love in one chapter :D I hope you liked it!*


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter XXV HAZEL

"Finally!" Leo cried as the Argo II landed in Epirus.

"We're finally here, and we're all alive!"

He jumped off the ship and onto the ground, kissing it.

"Gaea, I never thought I would say this, but I love you!" he said fervently to the earth.

Jason smiled faintly at his friend and pulled him up, dusting him off.

"Come on, Captain. You can profess your love for the dirt later. We have to find these doors."

That was the real problem. No one had any idea where the actual Doors of Death where. They were meant to be underground, so Hazel and Nico walked around together, combining their Hades/Pluto underground radars.

"I'm not sensing anything.' Nico said frustratedly, tugging his black hair.

"Why can't I find these stupid Doors?"

Calypso came up beside him and put a hand on his back. Her very touch seemed to calm him down. Nico slumped and then nodded resolutely.

"We've come too far to get stopped now." Hazel said softly.

"Amen to that, sister!" Leo said

Everyone laughed nervously and then they set off again.

The group stopped at a vendor to buy some water bottles and Frank said,

"Don't you think we'd be better off splitting up? I mean, we must be giving off some serious demigod scent right now."

Nico shook his head slowly and then replied,

"I think- being this close to the Doors- it would be best if we stayed together. We're going to be attacked by monsters either way, it might as well happen when we're in a group and able to defend each other. "

Frank nodded and took a sip of his water. He choked as it was pulled from his grasp and they heard a weird, snickering laugh. Hazel turned around and saw some little creatures standing behind the vendor's cart, and they were by far some of the strangest things she'd ever seen.

They had massive doe eyes, big ears, and bobble heads attached to tiny bodies. They hopped around on skinny limbs, clapping their hands in excitement. They were minuscule, only coming up to Hazel's knees...And she was short.

Hazel looked around at everyone and they all saw the creatures as well. Piper looked freaked out, Jason looked confused, probably wondering what Greek myth these things came from, Nico looked disdainful (he'd most likely had experiences with stuff like this before), Frank was still trying to clean himself up from the water and Calypso had a tender look on her face. She obviously though they were adorable. And Leo? He looked mischievous.

"What a bunch." Hazel thought, rolling her eyes at her friends.

"Um-' Hazel started, addressing the creatures,

"What- I mean who- are you?"

One hopped forward and pointed to the sign on the cart. It read,

"Kabaloi Vendors; Service with a Smile!"

"But you won't be smiling." Nico muttered to himself somewhere to Hazel's right.

Hazel ignored her brother and stepped forward, attempting to look friendly. She still didn't know what these Kabaloi could do.

"Hi there." she said cheerily to one, as if she was talking to a small child.

It regarded her curiously and then jumped up.

But it didn't attack her. Rather, it seemed to be searching for something. Nico pulled it off and then said,

"Thank the gods you don't wear jewelry, Hazel."

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked in confusion.

"The Kabaloi love tricking and frightening people. If you had anything precious on you, it would be gone in a split second."

The Kabaloi glared at Nico and showed it's fangs, hissing.

"Oh, quiet you." Nico said wearily, hanging it upside down.

"Hey,, that's cruelty!" Leo said, stepping in and intercepting the creature from her brother.

"It just attempted to rip Hazel's face off and you're worried about me being cruel?' Nico said incredulously.

"Where is your mind, Valdez?"

"Aww, come on, Nico, he's kinda cute." Leo said, holding it up for the son of Hades to inspect.

"It's kinda like a hamster or something."

"That's like calling Cerberus a Yorkie puppy." Nico replied coldly.

"Put him down."

Leo sighed and placed the Kabaloi down on the ground, attempting to walk away. It wailed and clung to Leo's ankle, nuzzling in close to him.

'Oh, great, now you bonded with it." Nico said sarcastically.

"Well, at this rate, why don't you just take the whole horde?"

Bad idea, Nico. Really really bad idea.

The entire group then started following Leo around, copying all his movements. Maybe they knew a fellow trickster when they saw one. But whatever it was, they simply wouldn't leave the son of Heptaspus alone. Eventually he stopped trying to shake them off and just shrugged,

"What can I say?" he said helplessly.

"i'm just so irresistable."

Nico covered his face with his hands and muttered,

"You have got to be joking."

"I am Leo Valdez, King Kabaloi!" Leo yelled, striking a ridiculous pose and flexing his muscles.

"Adore me!"

*How can you not adore Leo Valdez? :D*


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter XXV1 JASON

As Jason surveyed the group he was walking with, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. How was a ragtag bunch of five demigods, a war-crazed saytr, one peaceful gardener, and a herd of little gnome things going to possibly accomplish what they were attempting to do? He tried to feel optimistic, but it wasn't really working.

As they walked, Nico and Hazel suddenly stopped in their tracks. They glanced at each other and then nodded in unison.

"Here it is." Nico said, kneeling down.

"Right underneath us."

Jason gulped. They were about to go underground, Gaea's domain. It was very possible some, or all of them , wouldn't make it out of there alive. Piper saw what he was feeling and took his hand. Everyone turned to him and Jason realized he'd better say something.

"i just want you to know- that its been an honor to fight with each and every one of you." he started.

"And if we accomplish nothing else from this, I know I've made good friends."

Hazel cleared her throat and then said,

"I think w should say a prayer."

"Good idea, Hazel." Jason said, gesturing to her.

"Will you lead us?"

Hazel nodded and then said,

"Oh Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare, please lead us in the fight. We beseech thee to help us in the quest to retrieve your daughter, Annabeth Chase, and Perseus Jackson. Guide us, My Lady."

Jason glanced at Hazel and then murmured,

"Why'd you pick Athena, exactly?"

"It just felt- right."

Jason stayed silent. If that was all she wanted to say, he wouldn't push her. Nico knelt on the ground again and looked up at them, saying,

"You guys might want to back up a bit."

They took about five paces back and Nico concentrated. Suddenly, there was a gigantic rumble in the ground and it split open, revealing a pathway.

"How'd you do that?" Leo asked in fascination, staring at the breech in the earth.

Nico shrugged modestly.

"I don't really know. I can just kind of- make it happen, I guess."

"You should see him raise the dead." Hazel said in admiration.

"Now, that's scary."

Leo turned to gawp at Nico, his mouth hanging open.

"You can raise dead people? Like, literally, from the earth?"

"It depends. There needs to be a graveyard near."

'I have got to see that!"

"You probably will." Nico said grimly, stepping up and taking the lead down into the passageway.

When they went underground, the earth automatically closed up above their heads. Piper searched for Jason's hand and she held on tight. He couldn't blame her; being a son of Jupiter, Jason liked wide open spaces. He already felt claustrophobic.

"It's like the labyrinth.' Nico said as they went forward.

'You've been there?" Calypso asked in shock.

Nico looked at her and nodded.

"Two years ago. I saw Kronos being raised. Definitely not an experience

I want to repeat."

"I don't think anyone wants that, Nico!" Jason joked uneasily, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh really?" Nico said cooly, facing ahead again.

"I'd rather fight the Titan Lord one-on-one than face Gaea down here."

Trust Nico to scare them all out of their minds. Was he ever happy?

Not before too long, they were attacked. A figure rose up from the sand and Jason knew immediately it was Gaea.

"Ah." She rasped,

"You were foolish enough to venture down here. I do admire that. You are brave, but oh so unclever. This is where I am strongest."

"You know, lady," Leo said loudly,

"I'm getting really, really sick of you."

"Leo Valdez,' Gaea smiled, turning to him,

"The seventh wheel, the unwanted hero, how easily I see through you."

Leo whitened, but he gritted his teeth.

"Shut up." he said tensely.

Gaea ignored him and turned to face the rest of them.

"Down here, I hold ultimate control. I have countless monsters and demons under my command. You have seen nothing yet. And now, you will face your worst fears. All alone." she snarled.

"Starting with this little fire-raiser."

They all moved to protect Leo, but Gaea was too strong. She swooped in and scooped Leo up, hanging him upside down.

"You will now be taken to see, Achlys, the worst demon of them all."

"Oh yeah, what's so bad about him?" Leo asked recklessly, all the blood rushing to his head.

"He is the demon of fear. And if what he shows you doesn't kill you, it will be enough for you to want to die."

All the other heroes were caught up in nets of sand, impossible to escape from. Jason threw himself against the side and beat it with his fists. What had she taken his best friend?


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter XXVII JASON

They were in the nets for hours. Every so often, Gaea would come back, deposit a demigod back into captivity and take another one to undergo the fear demon. Leo was dumped into the next net to Jason and he called,

"Hey, man, are you okay?"

The only reply was the sounds of Leo's sobs.

Eventually, it was Jason's turn. He made eye contact with a shell-shocked Nico and set his jaw. Whatever waited him in there, he was going to face it bravely. And when he got back, they'd get the heck out of there.

Gaea basically dragged a resisting Jason to a different room and dropped him inside. He fell to his knees, pulling out his sword. He knew that whatever was going to appear couldn't be destroyed by Imperial gold or celestial bronze, but having its familiar weight on his palm reassured Jason in some way.

"Show yourself!" Jason called.

Someone stepped out of the shadows and approached Jason slowly. He whirled around and got a good look at the demon.

Achlys was a pale green hag who looked like a tramp gone absolutely bonkers. Scores of cuts and scrapes crisscrossed over her face, making large droplets of blood ooze out of her cheeks. Her eyes were red from recent crying, and still were blurred with tears. Her overgrown fingernails tugged desperately at her ratty hair. She was the epitome of misery.

"_Jason Grace," _she hissed, reaching out a hand towards him.

_"Do you see what fear can to do a person? It tears them apart, from the inside out. I have seen your heart. I know your strengths, but also your weaknesses."_

An image of Jason being laughed at popped up. He was surrounded by kids at Camp Jupiter, all jeering and pointing at him.

"_You fear mockery." _the demon whispered, sending chills running up and down Jason's spine.

The image changed; this time it was of Piper being tortured. Her screams echoed through out the chamber. Jason knew it wasn't real, that this was all an illusion. But that didn't stop from his eyes welling up.

_"You fear the ones you love being harmed."_

_"_Please! Don't hurt her!" Jason said hoarsely.

__The image changed one more time, and this was the most devastating. It was of Camp Jupiter being razed to the ground. Campers- some Jason's close friends- lay dead in the meadows. All the Roman villas were burning and Jason heard Gaea's laugh in the backround.

"_But most of all," _Achlys said at last,

"_You fear failure."_

__Jason waved his hand through the image and it died. He glared at Achlys, who stared remorsefully back at him.

"_Do you see what fear can do, young demigod?"_

"Yeah," Jason said loudly,

"Except there is a difference between you and I, Achlys."

The demon laughed,

"_And what is that?"_

_"_I, unlike you, don't let fear hold complete control over me. Do you want to know what _you_ fear, Achlys? You fear Gaea. That's why you're doing this."

The demon snarled at him, and that's how Jason knew he was right.

"Confront you fear!" he cried.

"Turn your back on the Earth mother and help us escape! Help us beat her; beat your greatest fear."

That was the wrong thing to say. The demon growled and started to chase Jason. He turned and ran before she could kill him.

**Blah, i'm off sick today :( But I'm catching up on writing; I felt i'd been neglecting you guys lately :) Hope you liked the chapter; I was trying to get inside Jason's head a little bit more than i have been**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter XXVIII JASON

Jason tore down the path, Achlys right at his heels. He dashed back to where the others were held prisoner and yelled,

"Hey, everybody, wake up!"

He ran back and forth between the nest, shaking them like a madman.

"Wakey-wakey! Rise and shine, everyone!"

Achlys jumped up and ripped open Frank's net with her long finger nails. But instead of attacking him, she let him tumbled out to the ground. Jason'e eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. The demon was setting them free. He knelt down and helped Frank up.

"Make it seem like you're terrified.' he muttered in the son of Mars' ear.

"Um- oh no! It's gonna get me!" Frank said in a daze.

Jason had to fight the urge to shake him. Frank was multi-talented, but acting was clearly not among those talents.

By now, Achlys had released the rest of the demigods. He made eye contact with the demon and she hissed,

"_Go, son of jupiter. Face your fears!"_

Jason nodded and, grabbing Piper's hand, pulled her down the caves. The others followed close behind. Distantly, he heard Gaea say,

"Achlys, what is going on here?"

_"Ah, Gaea_." the misery demon purred,

_"There's been something I've wanted to say to you for a long time-"_

And then came the sound of something greatly resembling a punch in the face.

The group ran, not stopping for breath. Jason was in the lead, and he forced himself not to slow down. They ran through the caves, trying to outdistance Mother Nature herself. Eventually, they stopped, everyone doubled over and wheezing. Nico was in the worst shape, despite his insistence that he was perfectly alright. Calypso stepped in and forced him to put his head between his knees in order to get some breath back.

"Uggh," Nico groaned,

"Why won't the world stop spinning?"

"Well, Nico," Leo started from his prone position on the ground,

"It's when you have increased levels of vertigo, which means you get dizzy and-"Stop." Nico muttered.

"Just stop."

Calypso bit back a small smile and helped Nico up. Jason had to grin at their romance. They were trying desperately to hid it, but it was so adorably obvious...Oh gods, he was starting to sound like Venus. Snap out of it!

The group stumbled into a cave to try and recoup. Jason slid down the wall and sat down, resting his head on his knees.

"I think we should all say what Achlys showed us." He said suddenly.

"It might help us deal with it better."

Everyone stayed silent and Jason cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Okay then, I'll start."

Jason relayed what the demon had shown him and upon hearing this, the group relaxed. Maybe some of their fears were similar. Maybe they just needed to know that they weren't the only ones who actually had fears. Whatever it was, it cleared the air.

"I saw a burning building down." Leo said at last.

"With all of you inside."

Jason understood that fear. Leo had already lost family in a fire, which he had been blamed for. His worst fear was losing his new adopted family.

"I saw warfare." Hazel said softly.

"Terrible, terrible warfare. Almost like the movie reels they used to show us of the Blitz in London, but even worse."

"You fear mass destruction." Jason said quietly.

Hazel nodded and Frank took her hand.

"I saw you guys being tortured." Piper said,

Jason turned to look at her and she gave a sad smile.

"You've all come to mean a lot to me."

Nico looked up from his corner and muttered one single word,

"Tartarus."

Calypso hugged him tightly as he said this and then she whispered,

"I saw myself being alone again."

"That's not going to happen, Cali." Nico replied forcefully,

"I won't allow it."

Jason let them have their moment and turned to Frank, the only one left to confide his fear. The son of Mars sat up and said,

"I saw fire. A forest fire , to be exact."

Upon seeing everyone's confused looks, Frank sighed,

"Well, it's about time you knew, I suppose."

Five minutes later, Jason was left staring at him in shock. He couldn't imagine having his life tied to something so fragile, that it could literally bun up in mere seconds...He shuddered at the very thought. Before he could say anything more, the group heard lumbering footsteps. At the doorway of the cave was a hulking monster. Jason whirled up, his sword already in his hand. Was it a Cyclops? Or a giant?

But it was none of these things. It actually looked like a gigantic teddy bear, with the big baleful eyes and cuddly body that seemed begging to be hugged.

"Mars Almighty, what are we facing now?" Frank sighed, jumping to his feet and pulling out his weapon.

The creature shied away nervously, making a rumbling noise deep in the back of its throat. Jason motioned for the group to get back and held up his hands to the animal.

"Hi there, boy.' he said, trying to sound soothing.

"You're a beauty, aren't you?"

"Jason, it's a monster, not a horse." Leo called softly.

"Attack already!"

Jason shook his head and the monster made another rumbling noise. A crack appeared in the ground between Jason's feet and he jumped backwards.

Calypso's eyes widened and she said excitedly,

"I know what he is! He's a Neade!

"Um- Like from Doctor. Suess?" Leo said awkwardly.

"No, silly! it's a ancient creature whose roar can split open the ground. That's why when he makes a sound, the earth splits open. They were originally native to the Grecian island of Damos, but I thought they'd all gone extinct. We must have entered his cave by mistake."

Calypso seemed prepared to stand there all day and admire the Neade, but Jason had other plans.

"Are they dangerous, Calypso?"

"Oh no, they're very gentle, but very shy. you must befriend him first, and then you will have his unwavering loyalty. "

Unwavering loyalty sounded pretty good. Jason stepped forward and smiled nervously at the Neade.

"Hi- er- Jeffrey!" He said, gently placing a hand on what appeared to be the creature's shoulder.

"I'm Jason Grace."

"Of all possible names to chose, you picked Jeffrey?" Leo asked as they rode around through the caves on the back of the newly christened Neade.

"Remember that this is coming from the guy who named a mechanical dragon "Happy", Jason reminded the group as they carried on.

"Besides, Jeffrey means "God's Peace." It seemed like a good omen."

Leo had no comeback for that.

All of a sudden, Nico tumbled off Jeffrey's back and fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Calypso practically flung himself down beside him and hauled him up again.

"Sorry," he murmured sleepily.

"Whatever's around here is giving off some serious Tartarus vibes. That, combined with bad memories, can kinda make you drop. We must be close."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter XXVIII ANNABETH

Annabeth thought she could have managed being held in a gigantic net. It was only when they separated them that things got really hard. It happened pretty suddenly. They had just been lying there, dozing off, when the top of the net was ripped open. A giant reached in and pulled Percy out, leaving Annabeth by herself.

Percy thrashed crazily in the giant's tight grip, screaming bloody murder. Annabeth looked around her wildly. Where were they taking him? And for what reason? Annabeth wracked her brains and could only come up with two possible answers. He was either going to be tortured or killed. Annabeth didn't know which was worse.

It turns out, Percy was put in the net right next to hers. Now she was really confused. What was the point in doing this? Well, they discovered why pretty quickly. Annabeth's net was pulled open once more and a leucrocatae was dropped in.

Leucrocatae weren't very dangerous, not in the literal sense. It wouldn't attack her. They were creatures that had a powerful jaw of bone replacing their teeth. Because of this, it can imitate human voices.

"Well," Annabeth thought,

"The worst it can possibly do is make me hear someone in pain. I think I can handle that, because I know it's not real."

But when the leucrocatae opened its mouth, it was her own voice Annabeth heard. And she was screaming in agony. She was confused about this for about five seconds. Why were they making the animal intimate her in front of her?

And then she paled as she realized. It wasn't for her, it was for Percy. And he wouldn't know it was fake, because he couldn't see the leucrocatae.

"ANNABETH?" Percy yelled.

"Percy, I'm fine!" Annabeth shouted back.

"Don't listen, it's not real!"

But her warning was drowned out by her own cries of pain.

Percy was throwing himself against the sides of his net, trying vainly to escape. He was going to knock himself out soon, and that would be no help to anyone. Now the leucrocatae was being just plain cruel. It was imitating Annabeth desperately calling Percy's name, begging him for help.

"Percy," it rasped.

'Percy, please! Help me, Seaweed Brain!"

Annabeth could hear Percy crying, and that was almost enough to make her heart split in two. The leucrocatae gave another piercing scream and then it said,

"I knew you were useless. Why would I, a gifted daughter of Athena, ever settle for you, the mistake of a child, a demigod who never should have been born?"

Annabeth's breath caught as she heard this. She would never, not in a millennium, say that to Percy. But it was obviously something he feared her of saying. Why else would they torture him with it?

Annabeth was thrown to the side as she felt the net dance beneath her feet. She was stumbling around like crazy, trying to regain her balance in shifting sands. The dirt was cracking, leaving massive lines all over it. Annabeth distantly heard the roar of a wave and then the ground just dropped out from underneath her.

Percy dashed to her side, turning her over on her back.

"You okay?" he asked urgently, eyes quickly flitting up and down her form.

"F-fine." Annabeth panted, heaving herself up.

"How'd we get out?"

Percy blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think I might have caused a tsunami." he muttered.

Annabeth threw her arms around him.

"Whatever you did, you're the best, you know that?"

And then they ran.

Annabeth found it amazing how so many monsters could just magically pop out of nowhere. One second, they wouldn't be anywhere around and then BOOM! Monster party! The couple ran even faster, when Percy suddenly stopped short.

"Wise Girl, look what's up there."

Up above them was two gigantic doors, standing on what seemed to be millions of steps. They ran to the first and then started climbing, helping each other along the way.

Annabeth's chest felt like it was going to explode if she went any faster. Monsters were right on their heels, literally snapping at their ankles. Percy pulled Annabeth up a step as a Stymphalian bird squawked at her, clapping its beak together in glee.

"Not my girlfriend, Tweety Bird." Percy spat, kicking it.

After what seemed to be hours later, they reached the top. Annabeth looked at Percy and said,

"We're probably in for the fight of our lives right now, since we'll just have to wait here until the others arrive on the other side."

Percy nodded, and then said quietly,

"While we have a single moment of peace, there's something I've wanted to ask you for awhile now, since New Rome, in fact. Actually, if I'm entirely honest, way before New Rome."

Annabeth looked at him, raising her eyebrows. What could he possibly want? Percy cleared his throat awkwardly and then said,

"Wise Girl- I'm sorry if i'm about to do this wrong but-"

The first monster had arrived. Percy groaned and swore under his breath.

"You have got to be joking."

Percy pulled out Riptide and whirled around, slicing a monster through its stomach. Annabeth turned to the right and stabbed a demon in the back.

"I still have a question to ask you!" he cried.

"Now is not the time, Percy!" she replied loudly.

"Yes it is! Because-"

He paused to pull Annabeth out of the way of an incoming empousai and then attacked it.

"Because who knows if I'll get the chance again? So, please listen!"

"I'm otherwise engaged at the moment, Seaweed Brain!" she shouted as she parried off a monster's claws with her knife.

"Yes! Engaged! That's what I'm trying-"

Annabeth used Percy's back as a springboard and hopped onto an demon, holding on piggy-back style. As she sliced off its head, Percy pulled her back down.

"That's what I'm trying to ask you!" he said as she darted past him.

"WHAT?" Annabeth yelled.

Percy gritted his teeth in frustration, whirled her around to face him and fell to his knees. For one terrifying moment, Annabeth thought he was wounded, so she flew to his side. But Percy pushed her back up, keeping a tight grip on her left hand.

"Marry me, Wise Girl?" he yelled above the din of the fighting,

"I want you to marry me!"

Before Annabeth could contemplate this, the ground above them split open, displaying the beautiful light of day.


	30. Chapter 30

*It's my birthday! :D*

Chapter XXX ANNABETH

"Annabeth, Percy!" the other demigods screamed from the edge of the precipice.

Annabeth stared up at her friends and felt a funny feeling in her chest. All these people had risked their lives to get her and Percy back. And they'd all just met only recently. And that was when Annabeth realized something; this quest was going to succeed, no matter what. No matter what Gaea threw at them , they would fight.

She shook her head to get out of her reverie and started climbing, Percy right beside her. Years and years of climbing the lava- rock wall at Camp Half Blood came back to her now. She forgot about everything else besides getting to the top. Unfortunately, most monsters could climb also. One reached up and clawed Annabeth's free leg. She stifled a shriek and gritted her teeth together in pain, grabbing another rock and climbing higher, out of its reach. She and Percy worked together, bolstering each other up.

There was still hundreds of feet to climb. They hadn't even reached halfway.

Annabeth's muscles felt like they were on fire. Her shoulders screaming in protest, and she suddenly lost her grip on on of the rocks. Slamming into the side of the cliff, Annabeth almost blacked out from pain. She was clinging on by one hand. Percy leaned down and grabbed her elbow. heaving her up after him.

"There is no way you are dying on me." he said through clenched teeth.

They spotted a narrow ledge and scrambled over to it, balancing precariously. Annabeth looked around wildly for a way out. The monsters were getting closer and closer, hissing and screeching in glee. Gaea had probably told them not to kill Annabeth and Percy, but that most certainly wouldn't stop them from mauling them.

Percy jumped, as if struck by an idea. He stared up at the gap and spotted Jason.

"Jason, could you possibly fly down here and get us?"

The son of Jupiter nodded and jumped over the side, using the air to support himself. He swiftly came down beside them and offered them both an arm.

"Come on." he said to Annabeth.

"We don't have much time."

She clung to Jason's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her in place.

"Percy, you next." Jason advised, holding out his other arm to him.

But Percy was backing up, shaking his head resignedly.

"You won't be able to carry us both."

Annabeth quickly released her hold on Jason and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Well then, I'm not going either."

"Yes, you are, Wise Girl." Percy ordered, green eyes flashing.

Jason was looking back between them, obviously wondering what he should do.

"You can head back up now, Jason." Annabeth told him.

"Yeah, and bring Annabeth with you." Percy countered.

Annabeth whirled around to glare at him.

"I'm not leaving you alone down here!"

"Yes, you are." Percy said calmly,

"Now, just let me kiss you already."

Percy leaned down and pressed his mouth against her gently. Annabeth was already crying, realizing this was the last time she'd ever kiss him. Because there was no way she'd be able to convince Percy of anything else. In his head, this was the only course of action. Loyalty was his fatal flaw, they both knew that. Percy would give up the entire world to save a friend. Annabeth just never thought he'd actually have to.

They broke apart and Percy leaned his forehead against hers.

"I will love you until the gods themselves die, Annabeth Chase." he breathed.

Jason put her arms around her and started rising up, his blue eyes miserable. They all knew what a sacrifice they were making. It was only when they starting rising higher and higher that Annabeth started to panic.

"Seaweed Brain!" she cried hoarsely.

She tried to fling herself out of Jason's grasp to get back down to Percy but he held on with an iron grip. Annabeth stared down at her boyfriend who was gazing up at her, waiting for the monsters to come and get him. Percy looked content. Happy with the choice he was making. Their eyes meet and Percy gave the mischievous grin that always got him branded as a trouble maker; the smile that Annabeth fell in love with over five years ago.

"Percy!" she sobbed brokenheartedly.

With that, Jason dragged her and himself over the precipice. The rift in the ground closed off and Annabeth threw herself on top of it, beating it with her fists. But there was nothing she could do. Nothing, mortal or godly, could retrieve Percy Jackson now. Her Seaweed Brain was gone.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter XXXI ANNABETH

Annabeth laid on the massive crack in the ground. not moving. At first, she'd refused to accept it, clawing at the hard rock until all her nails were broken and bloody. But eventually she stopped and just sprawled across it. As if that would bring him back. But some part of her told her that if she moved from where she was, she'd just lose it. So Annabeth hunkered down and stayed there. Because she simply couldn't bear to leave where she'd last seen Percy.

Distantly, she heard everyone muttering anxiously. Frank said worriedly,

"Should we go talk to her or something-"

"Leave her be." Nico said sharply.

"She's in shock, and she's grieving. Nothing you say will make this pain go away."

No one argued with him.

Hours later, Piper went and laid down beside Annabeth, so they were eye-to-eye.

"Hi." she said softly.

Annabeth didn't respond, just watching her. Piper didn't say anything else, just putting her arms around her friend. Annabeth stiffened up at first; she didn't want comfort. But Piper held on firmly, so eventually Annabeth relaxed into the embrace.

"You can cry if you want to." the daughter of Aphrodite whispered.

"I- I can't." Annabeth croaked out, her voice hoarse.

And it was true. No tears would come. She knew she should feel terrible about that, but maybe Nico was right. She was in shock, or catatonic- or something. But Annabeth knew the tears would hit later, and they'd hit hard.

They stayed there for ages, mourning the loss of possibly the greatest hero the gods, Greek or Roman, had ever seen.

Annabeth felt a rumbling in the ground beneath her, but she ignored it. It was probably her desperate mind conjuring up some fantasy that Percy was about to come rushing up, Riptide drawn in victory. But obviously that wasn't going to happen. Piper's breath caught and she said,

"Um- Annabeth? You might want to look at this."

She didn't even lift her head, so Piper manually shifted her into a sitting position and made her look up. And what she saw was enough to make her jaw drop.

The Athena Parthenos was marching its way towards them, Hazel somehow sitting on its neck and guiding it. Annabeth stared up at the statue of her mother, wondering how this was even possible. But then she remembered. The statue had to be an automaton, programmed by Daeldus. Athena must have sent it here.

"She's been following us since Athens!" Hazel yelled down.

Annabeth had no idea what she was talking about, but she couldn't find the strength or energy to care. The Parthenos knelt and Hazel nimbly jumped down. The statue then seemed to take on a mission of its own. It strode its way towards Annabeth and Piper. Piper grabbed her shoulders, rolling them both out of the way.

The statue was digging at the earth, bringing up huge fistfuls of dirt as it went. Well, whatever it was doing, Annabeth didn't see the point, really. But it still carried on, going deeper and deeper. The statue was up to its waist in dirt, and it still wouldn't give up.

"Stop it!" Annabeth cried suddenly,

"Whatever you do won't change anything! He's gone, and he's isn't coming back!"

As she said this, Annabeth's voice cracked and she started sobbing in silence. Piper held her close and let her cry. Annabeth couldn't catch her breath, she was crying that hard. Her shoulders were heaving and she was in the brink of hyperventilating.

"He's- gone." she hiccuped, pressing a trembling hand to her mouth.

Annabeth hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, howling. It wasn't supposed to end like this! They were meant to be together; he'd just asked her to marry him, for gods' sake!

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she yelled,

"Oh, would you just go away and let me sob my heart out alone?"

"Well, okay then." somebody said, and she could hear a grin in their voice.

Annabeth froze. And then she leapt up, tackling the person to the ground, making sure she hadn't imagined it.

Percy's bright eyes were staring back up into hers. He was all there, bruised and battered, but very much alive. Annabeth just stared at him, convinced this was a figment of her bereaved imagination.

"But- you're dead!"she blurted out.

"How is this physically possible?"

"Oh, Wise Girl, why must you get hung up on unimportant details?" Percy said with a laugh.

Annabeth wrinkled her eyebrows together, utterly befuddled. Percy grinned and pointed down at his feet. He was wearing sneakers with wings attached on the ankles and had the symbol of Hermes on the side. Annabeth recognized them immediately. They were the very same pair that she, Percy and Grover had left on the edge of Tartarus on their first quest together in the Underworld, when they were twelve years old.

"Who knew these things would come in handy after all?" Percy said delightedly.

"The Athena Parthenos helped, of course. That's what actually allowed me to get out of there."

Annabeth laughed helplessly in disbelief and kissed Percy with all the force she could muster. The kiss was made of pure need, for her to know that he was really living and breathing. Annabeth pulled back and they were nose to nose.

"So," Percy said softly.

"Is that a yes?"

It took her a second to figure out what he meant, but when she did, she smacked his arm.

"What do you think?"

"Um-" Percy said uncertainly.

"Of course, Seaweed Brain!"


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter XXXII NICO

There's nothing like an engagement to make everybody happy, Nico thought as they walked slowly back the the Argo II.

After Percy made his miraculous exit from Tartarus (trust him to make everybody flip out), the group all settled down to tell their different stories. They all sat in a circle around the breach where Tartarus had opened open and talked. Frank, Hazel, Jason and Piper all helped tell what had went on at the ship while Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were all missing. Nico then jumped in and explained Calypso, to which Percy grinned and gave him a fist-bump.

And then it was time for Percy and Annabeth's story. They couldn't talk about it much, which Nico could totally understand. Some things are just too terrible to be spoken about. They said what they could and then Percy brightened. Turning to his girlfriend, he asked,

"Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

Annabeth blushed, looking at her feet.

"I don't know, Percy. Now might not be the best time-"

"Tell us what?" Piper asked nervously.

Percy grinned and even Annabeth had to smile. Taking each other's hands, they said together,

"We're engaged."

Everyone stared at them in numb silence. Leo cleared his throat and then said,

"Like- in the "engaged to be married" kind of way?"

"What other way is there?" Percy asked, staring at Annabeth. Nico smiled faintly at his mesmerized expression.

Hazel, Calypso, and Piper all squealed with joy and nearly tackled Annabeth to the ground, asking her millions of questions.

"How did he ask?"

"When did he ask?"

"Where's the ring? Percy, you didn't get her a ring?!"

"How was I meant to? We were in Tartarus!"

"Guys, one at a time!" Annabeth cried, holding her hands over her ears.

The girls fell silent, waiting eagerly for Annabeth to continue.

"He asked right before you guys showed up."

"While you were fighting?" Piper asked incredulously,

"You were trapped in a net together for days on end. He had all the time in the world to ask you then. And he choose while you were fighting for your lives?"

"That's Percy for you." Annabeth said with a helpless shrug.

They decided that they better head back to the ship while there was still light. They all walked in a big clump, mingling together. Nico didn't think the reality had fully set in yet. They were all together, and all alive. This must have been some sort of demigod record or something!

Calypso came up beside Nico and slipped her hand in with his, interlocking their fingers.

"Hi there.' he said with a tiny smile.

Calypso put her head on his shoulder and they walked along together, matched step for step. Nico pressed a soft kiss to Calypso's head and shut his eyes. He couldn't remember a time when he'd felt this happy. And that was soon torn away by a feeling of dread. Because if there was one thing Nico di Angelo was positively sure of, it was when you were happiest that the Fates knocked you down.

On the other side of the group, Hazel froze. Nico glanced over at her and said,

"You okay, Hazel?"

She looked at him and shook her head,

"I forgot my jacket back there."

"Well, it can't be that important-" Nico started,

"Yes, it is. I'll be right back." Hazel said, whirling around and dashing back the way they'd come.

No one else seemed to notice where she'd gone. Nico dropped Calypso's hand and said,

"Guys, Hazel's gone back on her own. We need to catch up with her."

And with that, he turned around and hurried after his sister, everyone close on his heels.

The area was deserted. Nico turned around in a circle, searching for Hazel. His heart was hammering underneath his shirt. Where was she? With a sigh of relief, Nico spotted her to his right, picking up the jean jacket she wore everywhere.

"Hazel, there you are!" Nico called tensely.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Hazel nodded and shrugged the jacket back securely on her shoulders. She started walking quickly towards them, a reassuring smile on her face.

Nico shivered as he felt a shadow pass over him, Snapping his head up, he saw a giant towering above them. And it was heading right for Hazel.

"Run!" Nico cried,

"Hazel, hurry up!"

She started running faster, weaving in and around the giant in an attempt to get away from it. But the monster was persistent. Nico froze as he heard a voice he'd come to know well start talking,

"Ah, little heroes. The other two might have escaped me. you really are admirable. But this one will not get away."

It was Gaea, her sinister voice emanating from the giant. It leaned down and snatched Hazel up, swinging her around in the air. Nico yelled,

"Hazel, hang on, we'll help you!"

Frank hurriedly turned into a hawk and soared upwards, pecking and clawing at the earth giant's arms. Jason flew up and tried to pull Hazel from it's grasp, making her shriek in pain.

Nico could only watch in terror. He had already lost one sister to a giant. Bianca had died from a fight with a metal monstrosity in Nevada. He couldn't lose the other one in a similar way. And Nico got angry. He was sick of stuff like this happening to him, and he had no way of helping. In a complete rage, he grabbed his word and stabbed it in the giant's leg, trying to draw some of it's essence out of its body and hopefully weaken it.

It did the trick. The giant couldn't bear being touched by the Styxian iron. It howled and grabbed at its foot, releasing Hazel. She were hurtling through the air, screaming in terror. Too late, Nico realized his mistake. She would have been safer stuck up there with the giant. Because the fall alone was enough to kill her.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter XXXIII NICO

Nico sprinted to his sister, who was lying on the hard ground, unmoving. He fell to her side and gently eased her onto his lap.

"Hazel?" he said urgently.

"Hazel!"

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared up at him. Nico felt beneath her head and, to his complete horror, drew his hand back covered in blood. She must have struck it against the rock.

Nico snapped into action, grabbing the jacket she'd come back for and pressing it firmly against the wound, trying to stop the blood flow.

"You're going to be fine, Hazel. You'll be fine." he kept saying. Nico wasn't sure if he was comforting her or himself.

The other demigods had arrived, crowding around them. Nico ignored them, still occupied in trying to help his sister. But Hazel was pushing his hands away.

"There's nothing you can do, Nico." she whispered,

"Yes, there is. I never let things go, you know that." he said brusquely.

"This was inevitable, anyway." Hazel said.

"I never belonged in this world, not really."

Nico shook his head in disbelief, holding the jacket harder against her head. Hazel pulled it from his grasp and reached into a side pocket. With trembling fingers, she withdrew a piece of wood.

"Frank," she called weakly.

"I kept it safe."

Frank reached for her hand, holding it tight.

"Hazel, why would you do that?" he said.

"I made a promise to you."

Nico exhaled sharply.

"An oath to keep with the final breath." he muttered.

He turned on Frank then, shoving him backwards,

"Why would you do something like that? You knew the prophecy!"

Frank looked like he was ready to start sobbing. Hazel whimpered in pain and Nico turned straight back to her. He'd seen enough people die to know what was happening. But that didn't mean he was about to accept it.

"Hold on, Hazel! You're going to be okay, I swear!" Nico said desperately, holding her close as if that would heal her wounds.

Hazel stared up at him, her eyes clear and bright. Except she wasn't looking at him.

"Sammy?" she whispered.

"Is that you, Sammy?"

Nico looked behind him, seeing a spirit that looked eerily like Leo. Being a son of Hades, Nico was the only person besides Hazel who could see him. The spirit, apparently named Sammy, reached out a hand to Hazel,

"Come, dearest. Come with me." he said, addressing Hazel.

Sammy looked at Nico and said,

"I'll take good care of her. She deserves to go to Elysian."

Hazel's spirit rose up and took Sammy's hand.

"Goodbye, my brother." Hazel said.

The spirits then disappeared in a shadowy light.

Nico stared at the ground beneath him, trying to think. Like a robot, he stood up and slowly walked away, not passing anyone a second glance. They were all distraught, everyone crying, but Nico paid no notice. He continued walking, on and on.

Hazel's death was his fault. He'd allowed his feelings to get the better of him and attack the giant. She was dead because of him; his only true family...oh gods...

He walked to the Argo II and climbed aboard, ignoring Coach Hedge's anxious questions. He strode toward the fridge and pulled out armfuls of food and drinks. Jumping back off the ship, he allowed his senses to travel, searching for the nearest graveyard. The final fight with Gaea could come any day, and they needed an army. Preferably one who was already dead.

"Nico!"

He kept walking, not bothering to look at who was calling him. They ran after him and put an hand on his arm, holding him back. It was Calypso.

"Nico, please talk to me!" she begged.

Nico sighed and turned back around.

"What do you want?" he spat out.

Calypso flinched backwards, surprised at his tone. He saw the recent traces of tears on her cheeks and felt a pang of remorse. But then he pushed it away. He would feel nothing.

"Where are you going?" she asked finally, her warm eyes searching his.

"Getting things done." he replied.

"I'll be back soon, don't fret."

Calypso bit her lip and tried to kiss him, but he held her back.

"I can't do this anymore, Cal." he said softly

"W-what?" she stammered out.

"I can't do this- whatever this really is. Over the past month or so, I've let my feelings control my actions, be the guiding voice in my life. For someone like me, that is the worst possible thing to do. So I simply can't keep it up."

Calypso teared up and Nico bit his tongue from taking back what he just said. He knew what he was doing to Calypso, and how much it would hurt her. But the hardest thing would be pretending that it didn't hurt him as well. Could she not see how badly he didn't want to do this? But he had to.

"I don't want to be alone." Calypso whispered miserably,

"Please- Don't leave me, Nico."

"But you won't be alone." Nico said tenderly,

"The others will stay beside you."

Calypso was nodding, a resigned look on her sorrowful face. She was used to accepting heartache. Nico gave a curt nod of his head and walked away, trying to ignore the feeling of her eyes trained on his back. His eyes stung with tears and he angrily brushed them away. He had to stay strong, not break down.

As he walked farther and farther away, Nico regained control of himself. He took a deep breath of the cold night air and walked into the graveyard, preparing to raise an army of the undead. They were going to put Gaea back to sleep. She had messed with the wrong person. Nico di Angelo was back. And he wanted revenge.

END OF BOOK FOUR


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey guys :) As you probably guessed by now, my House of Hades fanfiction is finished at last! It took just about a month to write and kinda helped to ease the anxienty I've been having over Percabeth. I now know a lot of Greek/Roman mythology that I didn't know before, since I did my homework and found myths not already used in this series! My personal favorite had to be the Kabaloi, they were pretty awesome :D I want to say thank you to anyone who read, reviewed or PM'd me about this story. It had over 10,000 veiws. ****_10,000, _****guys! That's huge. You guys rock and may the gods bless you! **

**Now, back to the matter at hand. A lot of people reviewed the final chapter and asked me to write a sequel. I am considering doing it, but I want to know how you guys feel. So, please review this chapter or PM me! **

**Irishchic1234 **


	35. Chapter 35

Okay, I wrote the first chapter :) Here's the link,

s/8970243/1/War-of-the-Immortals

Please check it out!


	36. Chapter 36

Okay, this has nothing to do with the story...BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THE HOUSE OF HADES COVER? LIKE NO...THERE'S PERCABETH, THERE'S SPIDERWEBS, THERE'S A DOOR...THE DOORS OF DEATH...PERCY IS PRACTICALLY CARRYING ANNABETH...i can't do this. I can't physically wait six more months for this book. We need Kronos to make a time warp or something so October 8 comes sooner.


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